VietNamNet Bridge - Zhang Jinlai, also known as Liu Xiao Ling Tong, will visit Vietnam from April 4-7. The Chinese actor is best known for his role as the Monkey King (Sun Wukong) in the 1986 television series “Journey to the West”.

This will be his third visit to Vietnam. Unlike the previous visits, Liu Xiao Ling Tong will not only sign books for fans and attend cultural exchanges, but also meet with candidates for the title of Vietnam Tourism Ambassador, in the venue of the International Tourism Fair VITM 2014 in Hanoi.

The tourism fair’s chief organizer, Mr. Vu The Binh, says that the Chinese actor hopes to become the Vietnam Tourism Ambassador in China and he was invited to participate in the meeting with the candidates of the Vietnam Tourism Ambassador title on April 6 in Hanoi.

The meeting will include the participation of the former Vietnam Tourism Ambassador, actress and businesswoman Ly Nha Ky, and the five candidates for the title in 2014. These include actress Lan Phuong, Miss Tourism Huynh Thi Ngoc Han, foreign language teacher Do Thi Hong Thuan, Miss Southeast Asia Dieu Han, and the 1st runner-up of the Miss U.S.A Asia 2012, Chau Mong Nhu.

Liu Xiao Ling Tong has often expressed his desire to become an ambassador to promote the image of Vietnam in China. In 2010, during a meeting in Vietnam, he said: "I am ready to become am ambassador to promote Vietnam’s image unconditionally".

In 2013, in an interview with the China Radio International (CRI), the actor again expressed his willingness to undertake the role of the Goodwill Ambassador of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Vietnam.

The actor stated that, when his father was alive, he always wished for a sustainable friendship between Vietnam and China. He hoped to have the chance to realize his father’s dream by becoming the Goodwill Ambassador of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Vietnam to promote Vietnamese culture and people to the Chinese, as well as to people and countries around the world.

In late 2013, he told CRI that the characters in the “Journey to the West” series are loved by the audience at home and abroad and he wished the series could become a bridge spanning the friendship between the two peoples of China and Vietnam.

Liu Xiao Ling Tong is well experienced playing the role of an ambassador for different organizations. In June 2013 he was appointed the Image Ambassador of the Chinese Association of Protection of Wildlife. Also in 2013, he served as the ASEAN Ambassador of Culture and Goodwill for Youth.

T. Van