Mutianyu Section of the Great Wall ((Photo: Du Mingming))

African journalists gave the thumbs-up to the results of China’s construction during their visit to villages on the outskirts of Beijing on Sept. 1, ahead of the 2018 Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) scheduled for Sept. 3-4.

The visit, which was co-hosted by the FOCAC media center and the Information Office of Beijing Municipal Government from Aug. 29 to Sept. 2, was organized for Chinese and foreign journalists to learn more about the city’s efforts to promote win-win cooperation with Africa.

Nearly one hundred Chinese and foreign journalists working for 50 media outlets from over 20 countries, including Botswana, South Africa and the United Arab Emirates, were invited to take part in the activity.

South Sudan reporter Edir Dauneto Stephen Omunu

“It is amazing! I’ve never seen such a long building before,” South Sudan media reporter Edir Dauneto Stephen Omunu (Stephen) noted when visiting the Mutianyu Section of the Great Wall, saying that he hopes this kind of extraordinary building capacity is applied in Chinese construction projects throughout Africa.

He believes that the FOCAC, as a platform for China and Africa to summarize past experiences, will help the two sides better develop cooperation in the future.

Aside from the Great Wall's Mutianyu Section, the reporters also visited the International Culture Village of the Great Wall and the Xiaotangshan Modern Agricultural Science Demonstration Park, where they were introduced to Beijing’s charming villages and the advanced agricultural technologies currently being implemented in irrigation and vegetable production.

The Xiaotangshan Modern Agricultural Science Demonstration Park (Photo: Du Mingming)

“China’s advanced agricultural technologies are impressive, and I hope that China and Africa will strengthen agricultural cooperation through the forum,” Stephen noted.

It is admirable that China is dramatically changing, said Omphitlhetse Vivian Mooki, a reporter from South African newspaper The Star, adding that the activity has enabled them to learn that China’s beauty not only lies in its modern cities, but also in its rural villages. 

Three African journalists pose for a photo (Photo: Du Mingming)