As Chinese premier Xi Jinping is scheduled to visit Chennai for a second informal summit with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on October 11, more than 2000 students from Everwin school in Kolathur area of Chennai performed a grand welcome function on Thursday. The students were seen wearing the masks of Chinese premier Xi Jinping and waving flags of India and China. The courtyard of the school was also painted with 'Hearty Welcome' written on it. Meanwhile, an official statement released by the Ministry of External Affairs on Wednesday, about the Chennai Informal Summit, stated that the meet "will provide an opportunity for the two leaders to continue their discussions on overarching issues of bilateral, regional and global importance".

Tamil Nadu: Around 2000 students of a school in Chennai form a formation wearing masks of Chinese President Xi Jinping, welcoming him to India. The Chinese President will visit Chennai from October 11-12 for the second Informal Summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and him. pic.twitter.com/VDtnFTSe15 — ANI (@ANI) October 10, 2019

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Xi Jinping will land in Chennai on Friday noon, and will leave for Mahabalipuram in the evening, as per reports. His special convoy from China has reached Chennai last night via Boeing 747 & he will be travelling with it, as per reports. Around 200 security guards will protect Xi Jinping throughout the journey, from landing to take off, the next day. 16,000 policemen has been deployed for the next two days from Chennai to Mahabalipuram to give protection to the leaders. Major traffic diversions is also been made until Saturday evening since the leaders are travelling through road.

Preparations underway in Chennai

The summit will be held in the coastal town of Mamallapuram in Chennai. Ahead of the crucial summit between PM Modi and Xi Jinping, preparations are on the upswing in Mamallapuram. The historic coastal town is witnessing a flurry of activity, including infrastructure development in view of the high-level meet between leaders of both the countries. Reportedly, heritage monuments, including the Shore Temple, Five Rathas, Arjuna's Penance are being spruced up ahead of Chinese Premier's visit. Statues of Gautham Buddha and fighting bulls, a pointer to Tamil Nadu's tradition of 'Jallikattu" are among the sculptures coming up at vantage points at the world heritage site of Mamallapuram.

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The ancient Pallava town has been chosen for the Modi-Xi meeting keeping in mind that Mahabalipuram was once the port way, which had connections with South East Asian countries like China that goes back to 7th to 9th century. It is also believed that the emperors before Pallavas also had trade deals with ancient China which adds significance to the destination of the meeting. Over 100 workers have been toiling to clean the monuments and give it a fresh look without causing any damage, strictly toeing all norms to protect them. Security has been beefed up in the area with around 2,000 policemen already on duty, and additional 5,000+ policemen to be deployed when the leaders will visit the town.

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Informal summit in Wuhan

A two-day summit was held in China's Wuhan last year in April. The Wuhan Summit, which was the first informal meet between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping was held with an aim to improve ties between the two nations. The summit was seen as an effort by India and China to repair trust and improve ties after military standoff on in Doklam last year. The standoff rocked ties that were already seen as tense after India refused to attend a China organised conference on its multi-billion dollar Belt and Road Initiative.

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