A group of 11 international guests from the United States, Iran, Kazakhstan, Cambodia, Bangladesh, South Africa and Nigeria traveled to Yizhou district in Hechi, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, to learn of its folk culture and silk industry achievements on Feb 22.

Hechi is known as the hometown of Liu Sanjie, the fairy singer of the Zhuang ethnic group, and is known as the "hometown of longevity". Its rich traditional culture has attracted much attention.

A group photo of the guests at the Hechi Garden Expo Park on Feb 22. [Photo/guangxi.chinadaily.com.cn/hechi]

The group visited the Hechi Garden Expo Park on the morning of Feb 22. The park, serving as the host site of the 13th Guangxi (Hechi) Garden and Horticulture Expo, opened on Dec 15, 2022. It covers an area of 3,640 mu (242.7 hectares), and its main landscapes include Jinshan Lake, Tongxin Corridor, the Gexiantai, and Bagui garden exhibition areas. Of note, the Gexiantai area has a height of 82 meters and offers commanding views of both the park and farther places in Yizhou district.

Kong Xianling, head of the Publicity Department of the CPC Hechi Municipal Committee, accompanied the international guests to the garden. She hopes that people from all countries can become cultural envoys between China and their home countries. She also hopes that people will introduce the beautiful scenery, rich folk customs, tourism resources and rapid development achievements of Hechi to the whole world.

Kong (R) introduced the Hechi Garden Expo Park to guests on Feb 22. [Photo/guangxi.chinadaily.com.cn/hechi]

In the afternoon, the group traveled to Liu Sanjie's hometown. They learned about Liu Sanjie's story and sang some folk songs with the staff of the scenic spot, which made the experience more memorable.

Kurmanov Bakhtiyar (L), an international student from Kazakhstan, learns to sing folk songs at Liu Sanjie's hometown on Feb 22. [Photo/guangxi.chinadaily.com.cn/hechi]

Hechi is known as the "New Silk Capital of China", and the scale of silk produced here has been the highest in the country for 16 consecutive years. The group visited the workshop and production area of Guangxi Jialian Silk, to learn about the development achievements of Hechi's silk industry.

The workshop of Guangxi Jialian Silk. [Photo/guangxi.chinadaily.com.cn/hechi]