Tour along the "Belt and Road": Saudi Arabia, the Mysterious Land

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, located in the Arabian Peninsula in southwestern Asia, is a veritable "Kingdom of Oil" and also one of the richest countries in the world. In an interview with CNN, Sultan bin Salman, Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, announced that the Kingdom would begin issuing tourist visas in the near future. The announcement and the description of the country's vision in the Saudi Vision 2030 showed the awareness of the Saudi government to undermine its dependence on oil.

Indeed, this country has a unique cultural background and featured tourism resources to be developed, which are sufficient enough for it to start developing tourism in the future. In Saudi Arabia, you will find that every city or mosque is a unique sight of its own.

01 Cityscape

The Kingdom Tower

Located in the center of Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, it was funded by Prince Alwaleed bin Talal of Saudi Arabia, hence its name. It has been listed as one of the new Seven Wonders of the World by the famous American travel magazine Conde Nast Traveler. If you were in the Kingdom Tower in the daytime, you can overlook the well-organized streets of Riyadh and the yellow-green residential, agricultural, commercial and industrial areas, while in the evening you can enjoy the unique nightscape. All will bring you the extraordinary feeling of being like in a parallel universe.

Nightscape of the Kingdom Tower

Al Faisaliyah Centre

Located in the downtown business district of Riyadh, it is one of the tallest buildings in Riyadh. Designed by British architects, it is an organic combination of traditional Islamic culture and modern architectural concepts. The design of the tower is conceived from a ball-point pen, and the ball at the tip of the pen is comparable to the luxurious revolving restaurant where visitors can appreciate the panoramic views of the city of Riyadh. The Al Faisaliyah Centre features a variety of functions and is equipped with hotels, sightseeing tower and commercial facilities within the centre.

02 Mosques

The Great Mosque of Mecca (Al-Masjid al-Haram)

The world-famous Mecca is the first most holy city to Islam. In Saudi Arabia, "Hajj Rituals at Mecca" is the most magnificent religious activity of Islam every year.

The Great Mosque of Mecca is the most famous mosque worldwide with a long history. It is the location of the Kaaba towards which Muslims all over the world make pilgrimages and it is also the holiest place in Islam. The Great Mosque of Mecca will become the largest mosque in the world to accommodate over two million Muslims to worship at the same time after the latest extension.

Masjid Al-Madinah (Prophet's Mosque)

Medina, the second most holy city to Islam, has been inscribed on the World Heritage List by UNESCO. The city is like an ancient castle with numerous historical sites, especially many famous mosques.

The most famous one is the Masjid Al-Madinah which was personally supervised and constructed by the Prophet Mohammed, the founder of Islam. His own mausoleum is in the Prophet's Mosque. The walls of the mosque are very thick, piled up with square stones, and its courtyard is paved with marble, having an antique flavor. The entire mosque can accommodate one million people and is one of the largest mosques in the world.

03 Vast Deserts

Rub'al Khali Desert

The Rub'al Khali Desert is one of the largest deserts in the world. The name means "empty   Quarter", and it is named for occupying one fourth of the Arabian Peninsula. Rich in iron oxide, the desert is mostly red, making it a beautiful landscape. The terrain and water resources on the east and west sides of the desert are different, which presents a unique landscape with local oases in the east and gravel deserts in the west.

A vast land of Saudi Arabia is covered by deserts. So, for bus suppliers, they need to offer buses with better performance and improved after-sales service to adapt to the high-temperature road conditions in Saudi Arabia. In addition to serving Saudi Arabia's most important annual Hajj Rituals at Mecca, King Long also cooperates with Al Ittihad Jeddah SA by providing services for Ittihad football players in their daily training and when there is competition. King Long buses have won the unanimous trust and love of the team staff and players for their excellent and atmospheric type and environment, outstanding vehicle handling performance and ride comfort. The quality of the "Made in China" bus has been appreciated.

04 Hajj Rituals at Mecca and King Long Strength

The cooperation between King Long and Saudi Arabia has begun since long ago. In 2004, 60 King Long luxury buses were exported to Saudi Arabia in batches for the first time. The excellent quality of King Long buses has greatly contributed to the improvement of the transportation level in Saudi Arabia. The brand of King Long has also become a symbol of the good life of local people. Therefore, Saudi Arabia has become the country which has the longest history of cooperation and is most culturally connected with King Long. Up to now, there are more than 6,000 King Long buses in Saudi Arabia. It is the Chinese bus brand with best reputation and the largest number of buses in the Saudi market. It can be said that the "KING LONG" is all over the country.

Unlike other overseas buses, King Long buses also need to provide transportation services for the pilgrims in Mecca, in addition to the need for excellent performance to adapt to the high-temperature road conditions in Saudi Arabia. There is no mass transportation like that of Spring Festival in China in foreign countries, but the unique pilgrimage activity in Saudi Arabia makes the crowd density no less than that of the Spring Festival. During the pilgrimage, millions of Muslims from all over the world flocked to the holy city of Mecca, where huge crowds and traffic put unusual pressure on local transport capacity. It is worth mentioning that many pilgrims take China-brand buses to the Holy City. Facing the high-pressure test of transportation during pilgrimage, King Long works closely with Saudi customers to do a good job of overseas after-sales service during the "special period", which guarantees the normal operation of various transport companies during the pilgrimage period. Every year, the Ministry of Hajj of Saudi Arabia publishes the comprehensive evaluation ranking of the annual Mecca Hajj Transport Service Companies. The transportation companies which provide products and after-sales services under King Long basically cover the top five of the list every year.

Hajj Rituals at Mecca

From December 2018 to the end of February 2019, Saudi Arabia hosted a "Winter Carnival" concert, with the world's top musicians being invited, in Al Ola, and launched a new attempt to grant foreign visitors having concert tickets with visitor visa valid within 72 hours upon entry of Saudi Arabia. Such efforts not only show Saudi Arabia's attempt to direct the first group of foreign tourists to the region, but also indicate that Saudi Arabia may soon begin to prepare for a mega tourism development. The royal family of Saudi Arabia has also launched a "mega tourism" development plan, which will become a new direction of Saudi economy in the next five to ten years. For King Long, it is also a new opportunity.

Thanks to the in-depth development of the Belt and Road Initiative and the potential of Saudi Arabia's tourism transportation market, King Long has once again ushered in the golden age this year in this market. Up to now, 855 luxury buses have been sold, which will add a brilliant chapter of King Long in the Saudi market.