What they say

On Oct 17-20, a foreign media visit was organized by the city of Jining, marking the 40th anniversary of China’s reform and opening-up policy. Reporters from 17 media outlets in 13 countries, including Russia, South Korea, Mongolia, Vietnam and Thailand, took part in the event.

They visited Qufu, the birthplace of Confucius, representative companies in Jining National High-tech Industrial Development Zone and museums, experiencing the local economy and its cultural heritage. Their impressions about Jining are as follows.

I feel really surprised that some parts of the cultures of China and Vietnam are overlapping.

In Vietnam, we have a place called the Temple of Literature. Basically it was the first university in Vietnam. At that time, they followed the idea of Confucius in Vietnam. Nowadays, almost every student in the northern part of Vietnam goes there before exams, to pray for good grades and luck. I think I can tell my friends and readers about the similarity between the two cultures in terms of Confucianism and the interesting stories about him.

Dao Khoa Thu, journalist from the Viet Nam News

It is my first visit and

I’m really impressed by the city. Confucius is a very popular scholar and philosopher, not only in China but all over the world. In Pakistan, we are learning the Chinese language and the wisdom of Confucius. I personally think Confucianism is extremely good because of its messages about unity and humanity. Also, stories about how Confucius was born are really interesting and we are getting more knowledge from that.

Zafar Hussain, correspondent from the Jang Newspaper in Pakistan

This place (the Nishan Holy Land) is a noble birth place, and it is really really beautiful. I think this is a good tourist destination as well, just like the Great Wall. When people talk about China, they know about the Great Wall, but they don’t know much about the history, the heritage and culture. I believe that activities like this can let people know about Chinese culture. The different halls in this place we visited introduced us to the different values of Confucian thoughts. The sculptures and the decorations are also amazing. Wearing Han clothes is also a nice experience, like we are living in that culture and really going back to that time. Anne Malsha Sunali, freelance journalist from the Elegant Magazine in Sri Lanka

This is the first time I have visited Jining in China. And I think Jining is one of the most wonderful places to visit. The countryside of this place is beautiful, the downtown city is beautiful, and the birthplace of Confucius is very, very nice. And the way that the government and the local people have preserved the philosopher Confucius makes people realize that this is the place where Confucius lived. So it felt so great to see how people have preserved his stories and philosophy and the idea of harmony.

Shreejana Shrestha, video journalist from the BBC Nepali Service

During the visit to Sun Paper Group, it was the first time I found out that diapers can also be used in the paper making process. I think Sun Paper will benefit a lot of people in Laos, especially the local people who work near the plantation, because they plant a lot of trees, and they will create a lot of jobs and income for local people. In the future, not only business, but I think education and human resources will also be included in the cooperation.

Souksamai Boulom, journalist from the Vientiane Times

We heard a lot about China before we came here. But on our visit to the high-tech industry zone, we witnessed how China is advanced technologically, and the high-tech industry is very impressive because we learned that Chinese companies now supply many world giants like Oracle and IBM. Already in Africa, there are many Chinese companies working in various fields such as telecommunications infrastructure. So I think the relationship and cooperation between China and Africa will be stronger in the coming years. Kaleyesus Bekele, editor from The Reporter in Ethiopia