india

Updated: Oct 12, 2019 17:12 IST

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday sent a special thank you message to Tamil Nadu, which played host to his two-day summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

“A special Thank You to my sisters and brothers of Tamil Nadu. As always, their warmth and hospitality was outstanding. It’s always a delight to be among the people of this dynamic state. I also thank the Government of TN for their efforts in organising the Summit in Mamallapuram,” the PM tweeted after seeing off Xi who flew off to Nepal.

“I would also like to express my gratitude to all political parties and socio-cultural organisations of Tamil Nadu for the support and hospitality during the India-China Informal Summit in beautiful Mamallapuram,” the PM added.

The informal summit was held in the historic coastal town of Mamallapuram, where the PM and Xi visited the temple complex, witnessed cultural shows and held several rounds of talks.

Also read | PM Modi calls summit a ‘new era’, Xi says had ‘heart to heart’ discussions

Mamallapuram was chosen as the venue because of long-standing trade and cultural links between Tamil Nadu’s coastal areas and China’s Fujian province. The Shore Temple complex was the venue for a private dinner hosted by Modi, for which a huge white tent was erected. Modi and his delegation stayed at Fisherman’s Cove, a luxury seaside resort, which was also the venue for one-on-one and delegation-level meetings between the two leaders on Saturday.

Mamallapuram, a UNESCO heritage site, was declared out of bounds for tourists for the summit. Surfing and fishing along the Mamallapuram coast was banned by the police before the summit this weekend. Nearly 5000 cops were on alert and Navy warships were keeping watch. Vendors and hawkers around the monuments were asked to keep off during the high profile visit.