By Austin Maho
It was a gathering, rich in form and character. Media scholars, media owners, media administrators, award winning journalists a microcosm of global media representatives, Captains of industries and top government officials were fully represented. It was the 2024 Media workshop and Cooperation Forum on Belt and Road Initiative in Chengdu, Sitchuan province of China. The date was August 28, 2024; the Place was Tianfu International Convention Centre.
Peoples Daily of China, one of the largest media organisations in the world pulled off the largest gathering of media organisations in the world! They brought together people from divergent media and cultural background together to share experience and forge cooperation to advance the ideas of the Belt and Road Initiative. More than 200 heads of 191 media organisations from 76 countries and journalists, were represented. Heads of relevant departments, experts, scholars and business representatives attended and participated in the sessions and deliberated on the theme for the 2024 media cooperation forum on Belt and Road: “Enhancing Media Cooperation for Common Development”. The high end dialogue was designed to promote cooperation among the global media, to work together to carry forward the touch and the spirit of the Silk Road, cement Silk Road friendships, and fulfil the responsibility of contributing to the BRI’s high quality development.
Countries participating in the Forum were drawn from all the six continents of the world. They include: Cuba, Denmark, Djibouti, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Fiji, France, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Honduras, Hungary, Iraq, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Laos. Lebanon, Madagascar, Mauritania, Mexico, Moldova, Montenegro, Morocco, Myanmar, Nepal, New Zealand, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, Poland, Qatar, Congo (Burkina Faso), Republic of Korea, Russia, Algeria, Argentina, Austria, Brazil, Belarus, Bulgaria, Burundi, Cambodia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Sweden, Syria, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Vietnam, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Sweden and many others.
Highlight of the forum was the release of the Media Cooperation document: “The Chengdu Initiative” to further strengthen policy direction towards greater cooperation.
The staff of Peoples Daily were warm and friendly always willing to help. From the airport to the hotel, the ten days tour under the banner of the BRNN, was detailed to the last minute. It was an effusion of warmth and kindness, sights and scenes, a constant and conscious willingness to keep the team warm, comfortable, enlightened and entertained.
After the brain storming sessions at the Tianfu International Convention Centre, there was more. The participants broke into groups, it was opportunity to see China from within.
We saw China from Sichuan and Yunnan. The image was vivid, the impression lasting , forever imprinted in our hearts. The wonders of Chinese modernization. The accomplishments, Chinese tenacity, innovation, creativity and dedication to building a modern Socialist state having lifted its population from abject poverty.
From the warm weather of Chengdu to the cold plains of Yunnan we saw and experienced China. We were treated like royalties. Everywhere we went the friendship, warmth, welcoming smiles of the Chinese people left lasting memories.
The streets speak the language of a new China. The language of a changing China, of modernity, an upwardly mobile and urbane society. A strong middle class propelling the Chinese economy into the modern era. The well lighted streets, carefully and masterly manicured lawn, were sights to behold. Chinese street discipline is legendary. Streams of EV move quietly on the Broadways, electric scooters and bicycles were not left out. The roads were clean and quiet. Here cars hardly hoot their horns, with near zero emission; the air was pristine and clean, l inhaled and filled my lungs.
Chengdu is an urban city that takes sustainability to a new level. It is doted with high-rise buildings with green gardens adorning roof tops. Bridges had green vegetation crawling on its beams, girders and piers. Here, park and recreation is a way of life; a perfect destination for tourists.
I heard the city aims to achieve carbon neutrality in no distant time and from what we saw it is well on its way to achieving its goal.
From Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, to Du Fu Thatched Cottage Museum, Leshan Ebony Cultural Museum to Bamboo Art Museum, to the sights and sounds of Kunming, in Yunnan province, it was fast paced, it was giddy!
We learnt lessons in humility. How the Chinese has chosen its own part to peaceful development and modernity drawing from its five thousand years of history and heritage.
It started in Chengdu. Chengdu lived-up to billing: the best tourist city in China, the city of Pandas. The ” living fossil” , eight million years in continuous existence, an enchanting curly teddy only found in the snowy mountain of Chengdu. We saw how the living fossil through the conservation efforts of Chinese experts, at the research base of giant panda breeding brought back the adorable animal from the brinks of extinction.
We saw how China has carefully preserved its five thousand years civilization. How it has blended history with modernity. We visited the Du Fu Thatched Cottage: A museum dedicated to the famous Tang Dynasty poet Du Fu, the humble poet Du Fu’s home, now a museum a Chinese hero that continue to inspire generations of Chinese people and people across the world.
The wonders of the Ebony Art Museum and mastery of ebony carvings by Chinese masters. The Leshan Giant Buddha. The largest stone Buddha in the world, that continues to draw pilgrims from all over China and the world to worship at its feet. And many more!
The sites were a revelation: a blend of history, culture, modernity and natural beauty. It is no wonder that Chengdu is a top destination of choice for tourism.
Off we went to Yunnan. We visited the Kumming Haigeng Sports Training Base, a premier sports facility situated around lake Dianchi that has been churning out world class athletes for years. You wonder how China has remained competitors in global sporting events? Here was one answer. We were at the Yunnan Nationalities village, a cultural and ethnic theme park showcasing the rich and diverse traditions and customs of some ethnic nationalities in China. In China no one is left behind, the smallest and the largest of ethnic nationalities are recognized and carried along. Kunming International Flora Auction Trading Centre (KIFA), a major hub for the flowery industry in China. KIFA is modern and automated, it is where hundreds of brokers bid on flowers. Flowers oh! it is one of its kind in the world.
The main attraction in Yunnan was the Bamboo Museum, also in Kunming, a unique museum showcasing the significance of bamboo in Chinese culture and history.
On exhibit were incredible bamboo craft, delicate weaving, sculptures, furniture, paintings made from bamboo. We were participants observers at the Bamboo weaving and carving workshops and also shopped at the bamboo-themed souvenir shop. The masters demonstrated the versatility of bamboo and its significance in Chinese art and culture.
We also visited the Dianchi Lake, a picturesque and scenic lake with beautiful walkway and gardens.
The food?
It was divine, a feast, the taste of China. We enjoyed the legendary fiery and spicy food of Chengdu. The cuisine had depth and heat! We were introduced to “Málà” flavor which roughly put means a combination of numbing (má) and spicy (là), flavour and sensation, achieved with Sichuan peppercorns and chili peppers. As an African, l thought l knew hot and spicy but my palate was introduced to a new adventure in spicy delicacies, like “Kung Pao” chicken, Mapo tofu, boiled fish in hot chilli broth.
Like Chengdu, the food in Yunnan was fresh, rich and diverse., spicy with numbing flavors. Mushrooms and herbs were generously used in the cuisine. The taste of Yunnan “Steam-pot chicken” , chicken cooked in a flavorful broth still lingers in my memory. We had a taste of the popular hot pot, at Golf Lake Resort in Kunming, that unforgettable simmering hot clay pot of milky stock, attended by a tray of yummy condiments and ingredients, including thinly sliced beef, quail yoke, noodles and many more.
In Chegndu and Yunnan, the cuisines were a feast of carefully crafted dishes to tempt the palette, it was a symphony of rich and enduring flavors that leaves a lasting memory and a numbing sensation.
We lodged in some of the most memorable of accommodation. Seaton, in Chengdu was homely, a glittering and sturdy tower to modernity.
Jin-Jiang Jiazhou, in Kunming, with its picturesque restaurant overlooking the Dianchi river was refreshing.
Bamboo cottage was a classic, a testament to Chinese wizardry and mastery of bamboo art. I had hoped to see a bamboo toilet but stunned with a gadget you only see in sci-fi movies!
Yunnan Dianchi Garden Resort and Spa was the acme of space and luxury, a green and colourful landscape with a distinctive snaky lake, that blends tradition and modernity.
New friends were made!
New alliances forged!
And of course we had our own self proclaimed PANDA, the bulky and burly Caeser Zvayi, with his witty, distinctive and humorous Zimbabwean accent. A jolly good fellow.
The Media Cooperation Forum on Belt and Road 2024 was a huge success. To Elaine and her wonderful team i say xie xie. And “jia you” let the flag fly higher, let the touch of BRNN burn brighter!!!
