Chinese Vice President visits Ajanta caves in Aurangabad

Chinese Vice President Li Yuanchao, who is on a five-day visit to India, has paid a visit to the world-famous Ajanta caves near here and hailed the growing cultural ties between the two countries.
In an official statement, Yuanchao said he was "impressed" by the (Ajanta) caves and there are many similarities between these caves and the Mogao caves at Dunhuang in China.
"Viewing the caves of Ajanta reminded me that Chinese historians visited India centuries ago. Now our rapport with Aurangabad city is very strong," he said.
The cultural ties between China and India have a long history and they would be further strengthened in the coming days, he asserted.

He was accompanied by Maharashtra Rural Development Minister Pankaja Munde and Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) officers.
After spending about four hours at the World Heritage Site yesterday, Yuanchao headed to the residence of a school teacher, Madhav Somvanshi, in Sillod city and had a wide-ranging conversation with him and his family.
In the about 45-minute-long meeting, the Chinese Vice President discussed several topics, including joint family, dowry system, cooking gas, day-to-day expenses, etc with the family.
Meanwhile, due to high security, several tourists, Indian and foreign, faced inconvenience owing to ban on vehicular traffic on the route leading to the caves.