The Summer Program on "An Overview of Modern China and City Development", jointly hosted by the Foreign Affairs Committee of the CPC Beijing Municipal Committee, the Foreign Affairs Office of the municipal government and Beijing International Studies University (BISU), recently concluded in Beijing.

Over the past two weeks, about 30 participants from 12 countries, including Cambodia, France, Cuba, Côte d'Ivoire, Japan, Thailand, Vietnam, and New Zealand, gained firsthand experience of China's modernization through specialized courses and field trips.

Attendees of the summer program pose for a group photo.

A series of courses were designed for the participants to gain a true, multidimensional, and panoramic view of Beijing and China and obtain a deep understanding of Chinese modernization and the coordinated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region in the past 10 years.

The participants visited the Beijing Planning Exhibition Hall, where they learned about the protection of the historical and cultural city, the implementation of Beijing's overall urban planning (2016-35) and the coordinated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei cluster.

They visited the Sanlihe River, Zhengyang Gate and Palace Museum along Beijing's central axis to gain insight into Beijing's past and present and its splendid history and culture.  

The participants visit the Beijing Planning Exhibition Hall.

The participants pose for a group photo in front of Zhengyang Gate.

They visited the Grand Canal CBD and had a panoramic view of the Grand Canal and the Randeng Pagoda, as well as the three major cultural facilities: the Beijing Performing Arts Center, the Grand Canal Museum of Beijing and the Beijing Library.

Traveling via expressway, the participants arrived at the Xiong'an New Area in Hebei. They visited the comprehensive service center of Xiong'an's start-up area, the Xiong'an Exhibition Hall and the Jinhu Park and learned about the overall planning, spatial layout and construction style of the area. They also explored the China Telecom Smart City Industrial Park, witnessing the technological innovation, the development of new productive forces and smart city construction.

"The past two weeks have been a valuable opportunity for me to learn about the Chinese economy, technology and culture, and to understand the reasons behind China's rapid development," said an attending Thai official.