Silk Road influencers begin six-day exploration tour of Beijing

Xu Hejian (middle), director of the Information Office of Beijing Municipality, and "Silk Road Rediscovery Tour of Beijing" guests take a group photo at the launch ceremony, August 21.

Eleven influential media persons, network celebrities and scholars from 10 Belt and Road countries start their six-day "Silk Road Rediscovery Tour of Beijing" from August 21. The 2023 tour gathers prestigious Romanian Sinologist Ioan Budura, Chief editor of Bangkok Biz News Srikhayan Chamaiporn, Kazakh actress and anchor of Atameken TV Station Asel Akhmetova, and Editor-in-chief of Austria OKTO TV Senad Hergic.

Romanian Sinologist Ioan Budura speaks at the launch ceremony.

Ioan Budura, also the former editor-in-chief of the Department of Culture, Radio Romania, said, "It is an opportunity to see China's achievements in culture, economy, science and social governance in the upcoming days. The tour provides abundant, reliable materials to tell Chinese stories."

The launch ceremony was held at a square by Liangmahe River on the night of August 21, attended by Xu Hejian, deputy general director of the Publicity Department of the CPC Beijing Municipal Committee, Fan Jianping, president of the CRI Online of China Media Group, and the participating guests.

The event, hosted by the Information Office of Beijing Municipality and organized by the CRI Online of China Media Group, first started in 2016. Over the past eight years, 111 international influencers from 49 Belt and Road countries have participated in the event, telling Beijing stories and demonstrating its vitality and demeanour. The 2023 tour also receives support from the Publicity Department of the CPC Chaoyang District Committee.