Oscar Arias Sánchez, former President of the Republic of Costa Rica on 17th, May paid a visit to Yichang, and was received warmly by Li Lecheng, Deputy Secretary of the Municipal Committee and Mayor of Municipal Government, together with Deputy Mayor Zhang Zhengjun.

　　Li Lecheng has warmly welcomed Oscar Arias and introduced the general conditions as well as the development and construction of Yichang to Oscar Arias and his delegation. Li Lecheng told the delegates that Yichang is a city with a history of more than 2,400 years by the middle section of the Yangtze River; and he also made an introduction to the historical and cultural celebrities, such as Qu Yuan, Wang Zhaojun, the hydraulic projects including the Three Gorges Project, Gezhouba Water Control Project, etc. and the blooming tourist industry of Yichang.

　　Oscar Arias said that it was his forth visit to China after the establishment of the diplomatic relation between China and Costa Rica during his presidency in June, 2007; and during his state visit to China in October of the same year he had planned to visit the Three Gorges Project and finally failed for inadequacy of time. He mentioned that Costa Rica is also rich of hydraulic resources and it was planned to build a hydroelectric station of relatively large scale there. Finally, he expressed his thanks for the hospital reception in Yichang and high praise of the Three Gorges Project as a great nationally-beneficial project.