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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Like many tourists who pass through Yellowknife and visit the city's Bullock's Bistro, Robbie Yu Gong and Talie Hui Min Zuo had mixed feelings about their first eating experience in the city Monday afternoon.

Shanghai business students Robbie Yu Gong and Talie Hui Min Zuo won a Canadian Tourism Commission competition to explore Canada and arrived in Yellowknife last Monday for a five-day adventure in the NWT. - Thandiwe Vela/NNSL photo

"Yesterday we went to the famous restaurant," Gong said. "Service quality ... hmm," he said, grimacing and shaking his head. "I think there's no service at all."

"But it tastes good," Zuo added.

"Yes, very good," Gong said.

The Shanghai business students, both 29, won a Canadian Tourism Commission (CTC) competition to explore Canada, and toured Yellowknife during a five-day, all-expenses-paid adventure in the NWT.

One thing the pair definitely did not have mixed feelings about during their trip was the Northern lights - which they were lucky to see on their first night in the city during an aurora tour on the lake.

"I could use so many words to describe it - fantastic, amazing, beautiful, stunning," Gong said.

"It's like IMAX movie," Talie said.

The schoolmates also operate a travel agency in Shanghai - the most populous city in China - and say, in addition to the aurora borealis, the wilderness and outdoor activities of the North, including the lakes, waterfalls, fishing, dog-sledding, boating, the "peaceful quiet" would especially appeal to the tourists of their city.

"Life here is so wild, natural," Gong said. "So I think that's a unique selling point."

The shopping? Not so much, the pair agreed, and the food options also left much to be desired.

"Chinese people always miss Chinese food," Zuo said, suggesting the city could use more Chinese restaurants if it wants to appeal to the market.

A direct flight to Yellowknife from Vancouver would also help, they said. The only direct flight from Vancouver to Yellowknife was cancelled by Air Canada last winter, after the route did not meet set profitability targets, a spokesperson told Yellowknifer.

Since Canada was granted approved destination status for leisure travel by the Chinese government in 2009, visitation rates from China have been increasing rapidly, said Derek Galpin, managing director of the Canadian Tourism Commission for China and India. Nearly 250,000 visitors came from China to Canada last year, and that number is increasing by about 25 to 30 per cent this year, he said, although the majority of that traffic is going to the more known destinations in the country.

"The whole idea of this type of program is really to highlight the Northwest Territories because at the moment most of the traffic is going into B.C., Alberta, Ontario, Quebec - the tourism icons you see on TV," Galpin said. "So this is why we're doing this type of promotion, to highlight the other areas, particularly to the independent travel market.

"It's different, it's unusual," Galpin said of the NWT tourism package. "The wilderness experience, Nahanni National Park - I mean, all of these places, nobody's ever heard of them in China. They know Niagara Falls, they know the Rockies, they know Vancouver, Toronto, Victoria - so the whole idea of these programs we're doing is really to highlight activities and other things you can do in other parts of Canada."

Zuo and Gong said the younger generation in China is especially eager to travel to Canada and other English-speaking parts of the world.

While the pair have visited an impressive list of countries, including Mongolia, India, Pakistan, New Zealand, Italy, and Fiji, the aurora experience in Yellowknife shot right to the top of their list of favourite places.

"Nothing can compare," Zuo said.

The winning pair's trip was documented by a film crew and will be aired on the Travel Channel in China.

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