Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday started a three-nation tour and the first stop in Serbia has renewed Chinese public’s interests in the country.

Located at the crossroads between central and southern Europe, Serbia is to many Chinese a bit unfamiliar when compared to its other European counterparts.

The first thing that comes to mind when speaking of the Balkans with many Chinese may still be Yugoslavia, according to cctv.com, a website affiliated with China Central Television.

When it comes to the Socialist country, however, many people’s memory would open up to recall its lifetime president Josip Broz Tito, its noted soccer team in the 1980-90s and the city of Belgrade, which rose from sufferings, cctv.com noted.

“Undoubtedly, Tito is a totem for modern Yugoslavia. In face of the invasion of fascism, Tito, as the commander in chief of all the national liberation military forces, helped to bring together the entire Balkan peninsula with his charisma and bravely fight against invaders,” cctv.com commented, adding that Tito’s legend also went to his upholding of the Non-Aligned Movement.

According to cctv.com, the lifetime president visited China in 1977 and his legendary actions have gained much popularity in China.

Many Chinese people were also reminded of the classic movies such as Walter defends Sarajevo and The Bridge (Most). The movies were warmly received by the Chinese audience at that time in the way the younger generation generally fantasizes about other Hollywood films now, according to cctv.com.

Many Chinese media outlets and numerous netizens mourned the death of the actor in the Walter defends Sarajevo, Velimir "Bata" Živojinović, who passed away in May.

Serbia’s capital Belgrade is also highly ranked in the regard of Chinese people’s overall impressions of the country. While many remember it for its sufferings during air strikes in World War II and from NATO later on, the city has been endeavoring to rise from the ashes and it will receive the visiting Chinese president on Friday, who will be the first Chinese head of state to visit Serbia in 32 years, media reported.

Xi published a signed article on a leading Serbian newspaper Politika under the title of "Enduring Friendship and True Partnership" on Thursday ahead of his State visit to the Balkan country, in which the president said he looked forward to renewing the friendship and exploring future cooperation to take the strategic partnership to a new high, the Xinhua News Agency reported.