Tiffany Holman/Our Today Writer

Thirty two journalists from Caribbean and African nations were taken on an exciting adventure on March 29. 

The tour of Yueyang City featured a warm welcome from local officials, including Liu Qifeng and Chen Dehai, who highlighted China’s commitment to environmental protection and ecological conservation.

Yueyang City, with its natural beauty is a place of great cultural significance. The city has a rich history dating back to the Three Kingdoms Period and is home to several ancient temples and historic landmarks.

In a recent speech given in Yueyang city, Hunan Province, Qiu Aihua, deputy director of Foreign Affairs in Hunan Province extended a warm welcome with the following speech:

‘Honorable Counsellor Chen Dehai, Director General Liu Qifeng, Yueyang Municipal Publicity Department of CPC, Dear friends from the press from home and broad, Ladies and Gentleman:

I am so glad to meet you in Yueyang city, Hunan Province during such a beautiful season. First of all, I’d like to extend my warm welcome and sincere greetings to all guests from far apart to participate the group reporting trip of foreign media to Hunan’s cities including Yueyang, Changsha and Chenzhou on behalf of the Foreign Affairs Office of Hunan Provincial People’s Government. Hunan province, located in the middle south region of China. It is the transition zone between the eastern coastal region and the central and western region. Besides, it is the junction between the Yangtze River open economic belt and the coastal open economic belt. It covers an area of 210 thousand square kilometers with a permanent population of 66 million. The GDP of Hunan province in 2022 amounts 4.8 trillion RMB(70 billion USD), ranks 9 in 29 provinces of China.

Hunan boasts of numerous scenic spots including two World Natural Heritage sites listed by UNESCO: Zhangjiajie National Forrest Park and Mt. Lang, and one World Culture Heritage, Laoshiceng. Hunan has a long history with rich cultural heritage and talented people, which made great influence in China’s modern history. Hunan is the hometown to Chairman Mao Zedong, the main founder of New China, Communist Party of China and People’s Liberation Army of China. A group of the founding fathers of new China were born and raised in this land. Hunan enjoys convenient transportation and an advantageous location. It ranks in the top group of provinces in terms of high- speed railways and expressways. It will take 5 hours and 30 minutes from Changsha (the capital city of Hunan) to Beijing, 5 hours from Changsha to Shanghai, 3 hours and 30 minutes to Shenzhen and Hongkong, 2 hours and 30 minutes to Guangzhou. Hunan is famous for its manufacturing industry, with many high-tech products that lead the world, such as the fastest calculating supercomputer, the super hybrid rice and super high speed train (bullet train. Industries with an output exceeding one trillion yuan are equipment manufacturing, agri-product processing and materials. Another 16 industries hold a market value of over 100 billion yuan respectively. During this group reporting trip, you will find out the fruitful outcomes of the Yangtze River’s protection, since President Xi Jinping has entrusted Yueyang with the task of protecting the river; you will have a glimpse of the vigor and vitality of youth in Changsha, a city full of charm; you will appreciate the gorgeous mountains of South China in Chenzhou. Seeing is believing. I sincerely hope that our journalist friends could walk around to see and feel the real situation in these three cities in Hunan. I do hope you will have an unforgettable impression on Hunan, especially on hospitality of the people, spicy food and its unique culture. When you are back home, you can tell your impressive story in Hunan and China to your friends and colleagues. Thank you.’

Last but not least, I wish all the friends from the press a complete success of interviews and a wonderful stay here in Hunan province.

Liu QiFeng, head of publicity department of Yueyang City also gave a speech:

‘As the famous saying goes, Dongting Lake is the lake of lakes and Yueyang Tower, the tower of towers under heaven. And now we are standing right here in front of the Yueyang Tower, listed as one of the Three Great Towers to the south of the Yangtze River in China, on the shore of the mighty 800-hundred-li Dongting Lake. I have to say that, on this occasion, beholding such view, it is such a great delight to meet friends of congenial minds coming from afar.

Yueyang has a sociopolitical history of over 2, 500 years, which helps bless the city with profound cultural heritage featuring famed lakes and rivers, renowned towers and mountains and influential literary works. It has been designated as a national Historical and Cultural city, a National Civilized City, nationally Recognized Garden City and also entitled as a Model Tourist City. As is hailed by many, what beautiful mountains and rivers in Yueyang that have attracted so many visitors and is expected to invite more visits in the future……

I believe, our journalist friends will personally experience the beauty of the ecological environment as well as the vigor of cultural heritage in Yueyang. To conclude, I wish the Group Reporting Trip of Foreign Media to Hunan Cities with Yueyang included a complete success!

Thank you!’

Join us as we embark on this exciting adventure to showcase the green wonders of Yueyang and beyond!