Nearly 1,000 accredited journalists covering the 2018 Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), coming from 278 media outlets in 153 countries and regions, conducted interviews around Beijing from Aug. 29 to Sept. 2.
The media center of the FOCAC Beijing Summit and the Information Office of the Beijing Municipal People's Government organized 10 guided tours to assist the journalists in learning about Beijing's urban planning and city landscape, scientific and technological innovation, cultural innovation, high-end manufacturing, high-speed railway, new airport construction, the Peking Opera, construction in the rural area, traditional Chinese medicine, Chinese acrobatics, as well as cooperation between China and Africa.
The journalists visited the Beijing Planning Exhibition Hall to learn about the city's new urban planning (2016-2035), especially focusing on the planning on its strategic functions. They then climbed Jingshan Mountain for a bird's eye view of Beijing's central axis, getting a sense of both the historical legacy and future vision of the city.
The journalists also paid a visit to the exhibition center of Zhongguancun Science Park, the production line for off-road vehicles of the Beijing Automotive Industry Corporation, as well as the StarTimes Group, a technology and content provider in China's television broadcasting industry. During this trip, they learned about Beijing's recent progress in technological and cultural innovation, as well as its latest achievements in the transformation and upgrading of the high-end manufacturing industry.
They also visited Beijing's new airport being constructed by the Beijing Urban Construction Group and took a tour through the Beijing Tong Ren Tang Museum, both of which helped them learn about the city's efforts in supporting Africa in various ways. In addition, the journalists were shown with China's achievements in high-speed railways from a trip to the traffic control center of the China Railway and the Beijing section of the tracks.
The journalists also toured around the Mutianyu Great Wall in Beijing's Huairou district, a featured village at the foot of the Great Wall, and a science and technology exhibition park in Xiaotangshan, Changping district, to experience Beijing's beautiful countryside and technological development in agriculture, as well as the construction of the Great Wall cultural belt.
The journalists also had a look around the Liyuan Theater to talk to Peking Opera artists, as well as the Lao She Teahouse and the China National Acrobatic Troupe to learn about Beijing's tea culture and Chinese acrobatics respectively.
The journalists spoke highly of all the events and have published a large number of positive reports.