President Xi Jinping’s visit to Tassie dominates Chinese media President Xi Jinping’s visit to Tassie dominates Chinese media

THE Chinese public have been saturated with iconic images of Tasmania since President Xi Jinping’s visit to the state.

His Excellency Mr Xi Jinping, President of the People's Republic of China and Madame Peng Liyuan meet a baby Tasmanian Devil from Bonorong Wildlife Park, Government House, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia

THE Chinese public have been saturated with iconic images of Tasmania since President Xi Jinping’s visit to the state.

Photos on Chinese social media were being followed by 60 million people and the tour took out a third of China’s prime-time TV news.

Tourism Industry Council chief Luke Martin said the marketing exposure was priceless.

Mr Martin said the most popular photos of the visit had 60 million followers on Chinese microblogging website Weibo.

“This is the single greatest advertorial this state has ever had,” he said.

The Tasmanian visit took out a staggering 10 minutes of the 30-minute prime time news on Beijing-based China Central Television (CCTV).

Mao Ding, who runs a Chinese Tasmanian news website from Hobart, said it was extremely rare for one news item to take up 10 minutes on CCTV.

“It led the news and kept going for 10 minutes,” Mr Ding said.

“That’s really big exposure.”

He said the President’s visit was also on the front of the major daily newspapers and went wild on social media.

“I thought the coverage was going to be big, but it was more than we expected. Everyone knows where Tasmania is now.”

Mr Ding said the Chinese version of Facebook, named WeChat, was brimming with Tasmanian photos.

“All of my friends on WeChat were sharing the photos,” he said.

One of the most popular images being shared was one of Chinese First Lady Peng Liyuan holding a baby Tasmanian devil.

Chinese Cultural Society of Tasmania president Yongbei Tang said the Chinese loved the shot of the swaddled devil.

Ms Tang, who also edits Chinese News Tasmania magazine, was covering the visit online for Chinese viewers.

“The photo of the First Lady with the devil was shared around everywhere,” she said.

Madame Peng swooned over three orphaned baby Tasmanian devils, six-month-old sisters Lulu, Bella and Possum.

Bonorong founder Greg Irons said it was a “fantastic opportunity to beam a Tassie devil into people’s lounge rooms”.

“It helps our tourism and our wildlife and it’s so important for conservation,” Mr Irons said.

Ms Tang said another popular photo was one she took of President Xi and Madame Peng strolling arm in arm along the Hobart waterfront in front of the Chinese icebreaker Xue Long.

“That photo got lots of nice comments,” she said.

A popular photo that ran prominently on the People’s Daily Online was an image of President Xi shovelling soil to plant a tree at Government House gardens.

The smiling faces of Tasmanian schoolchildren were also featured on the Chinese news site.

Mr Martin said the images being beamed to China encapsulated Tasmania’s strengths: beautiful scenery, unique wildlife and friendly people.

“I think it’s priceless. The event couldn’t have gone any better,” he said.

The 10-minute news story featured the Bacon family, highlighting the relationship between President Xi and the late premier Jim Bacon.

His son, Opposition tourism spokesman Scott Bacon, and his family met the Chinese President on Tuesday.

“It was a great privilege to meet the President but also a fantastic opportunity for Tasmania,” he said.