Go Jiangsu social media trip for expats was held in Nanjing this Friday. Twelve foreign friends from seven countries, including the United States, Spain, South Africa and Singapore, visited East Nanhu Road, Nanjing Riverside Park, Little Westlake Block, Qinglong Community in Chunhua Sub-district, and Three Kingdoms Village to witness Nanjing's achievements in urban renewal projects and rural construction in recent years and feel the unique charm of Nanjing.
Memory of Nanjing in the old city block
Biscuit tin, malted milk, old calendar from 1982....... In the “Memory of Nanhu” Block, elements of the 1980s that can be seen everywhere on the street made expats feel as if they were in that passionate time."Along the way I saw a lot of old people, children and young people living here happily. I felt like I was part of this community." Douglas Christopher Dueno, a foreign friend from the United States, was deeply moved by the hustle and bustle on East Nanhu Road.
Expats walking in "Memory of Nanhu" Block
Nanhu Road is the epitome of Nanjing's urban development and local culture in the past 40 years. The streets and alleys are infused with the memories of several generations of Nanjing people. As a key urban renewal project, the "Memory of Nanhu" project builds a featured block based on the history of this area, combines urban regeneration with historical and cultural preservation, and retains the memory of old Nanjing.
Similarly, the Little Westlake Block has also welcomed a new lease of life. The once chaotic shantytown has become a beautiful sample of the protection of the old city. At the studio of Gu Yeliang, the exquisite and vivid Qinhuai lanterns were praised by foreign friends. In Bug’s Space, the Bugs’ Book, which is mysteriously created by the bugs, also made everyone feel novel. These new forms of business co-exist with the neighborhood, injecting new vitality into the historical and cultural areas, making development and memory visible.
Expats in Gu Yeliang's Qinhuai Lantern studio
In recent years, the urban renewal of Nanjing has followed the principle of "small-scale and gradual", combined protection and regeneration, and constantly expanded the radius of people's happy life with livability as the starting point, so that the warmth of people's livelihood in the city is within reach.
A visit to rural families in Qinglong Community
Leaving the bustling urban area, at the foot of Qinglong Mountain, expats walked into a beautiful courtyard, the house of Zhou Bangbing, a villager in Qinglong Community. The two-story building was particularly eye-catching. The small bridge and flowing water add some vitality and interest to it. Such a pleasant living environment made foreign friends want to stay.
160 city-level beautiful courtyard demonstration households have been built in Qinglong Community.
In the afternoon, the Qinglong Community was particularly lively. Women sat around, talking and laughing, painting on the dustpan. The villagers said that this is the "base camp" for women's activities in Qinglong Community. "As soon as we have time, we will come together to learn painting, do handicrafts, and dance, which enrich our life a lot."
According to the local development conditions, Qinglong Community has formulated the "five thousand mu" economic target project, actively expanded the sales channels of agricultural products through e-commerce, vigorously developed the courtyard economy, and comprehensively promoted the construction process of beautiful countryside. In 2022, the collective income of Qinglong Community has reached 15 million yuan, and the per capita net income of farmers has reached 38 thousand yuan.
Danny Lingham from Singapore has been living in China for many years. He was amazed by the great changes that have taken place in China's rural areas, "The farmers here are respected. They have set an example for many rural areas in the world. China is a country truly committed to poverty eradication."
Intangible cultural heritage techniques experience in the Three Kingdoms Village
The last stop of the trip in Nanjing was the Three Kingdoms Village. According to legend, this is the place where Zhou Yu (a Chinese military general and strategist of Eastern Wu, one of the Three Kingdoms, in the late Eastern Han dynasty of China) built the stables. The village was built according to the legend and developed into one of the most distinctive and attractive rural leisure experience parks in Nanjing.
Under the guidance of the masters, the foreign friends experienced intangible cultural heritage techniques such as mounting, carving, paper-cutting, etc. Khan Muhammad Aamir Shafique from Pakistan is a professor at Jiangsu University. This is his first experience of these intangible cultural heritage techniques. "I have only seen it on TV and in movies before, and it is more difficult than I think. It is a very interesting and meaningful experience."
Ali experiencing Intangible Cultural Heritage Techniques
Khan experiencing Intangible Cultural Heritage Techniques
Muhamad Ali Arshad from Pakistan graduated from Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics and has lived in Nanjing for four years. "I have been to many cities in Jiangsu, and my favorite is Nanjing. I often recommend scenic spots such as Confucius Temple and Laomendong to my friends. I hope that through my sharing, more foreign friends can understand and love Nanjing," said Ali.
Since April 2018, over 100 overseas followers of Facebook and Twitter account “Jiangsu, China” have been invited to visit different parts of Jiangsu and experience a variety of cultural activities. This trip built a bridge to promote foreign exchanges in Nanjing, and more are about to come.
（Hello Jiangsu ）
