Expat group explores Nanjing's revival projects

Nanjing, a major city in eastern China, is known as one of the country's six great ancient capitals. After spending a day in the city, 12 foreign guests witnessed remarkable landscapes, dynamic urban areas, the city's unique traditional culture, and the resilience of the Nanjing people.

The launching ceremony of this event was held at the Nanjing International Youth Cultural Center. It was there that the other foreign visitors and I were introduced to the "Go Jiangsu" initiative, which was developed in 2018. Through this initiative, the province has sponsored a multitude of cultural experiences for more than 100 foreign friends; so that they can go on to share their impressions of Jiangsu to the rest of the world through modern social media.

The first stop on the Nanjing tour was the Nanjing Riverside Park, which comprised of several smaller parks such as the Fish-mouth Wetland Park. We were given a tour of this renovated landmark and learned of its contributions towards national fitness, as well as the adjacent Grade 1 reservoir that serves a major source of drinking water for the city.

The next stop of note was the finished "Memory of Nanhu" revival project. This city block has preserved the essence of how the city was in the 1980s. This allowed us to get a glimpse of what life was like in China as it was beginning to open to the world. We also learned how the people in this area have adapted to modern times, while keeping true to their cultural roots.

Throughout the day, we were introduced to multiple cultural inheritors, such as a paper lantern master in Little Westlake Block. So far, he has shared this cultural heritage in over 50 foreign countries worldwide. The Three Kingdoms village also showcased Nanjing's cultural heritage and allowed us to take part in traditional drum performances, gold leaf moulding, paper-cutting, porcelain painting and other cultural activities.