A group of foreign reporters embarked on a four-day tour of Jining, Shandong province, on Oct 17, exploring the city's achievements in protecting traditional culture, replacing old growth drivers with new ones, and rural revitalization over 40 years of reform and opening up.

Nearly 20 reporters from major media organizations around the world, including BBC, Russia's Rossiya Segodnya, South Korea's JoongAng Ilbo, Thailand's Nation Multimedia Group, the Reporter and the Daily Monitor Newspaper from Ethiopia, the Nepali Times, the Jahon Information Agency from Uzbekistan, the Elegant Magazine from Sri Lanka, Pakistan's Daily Jang, Geo News, and Express Tribune, Tajikistan's Avesta News Agency, the Public Security Newspaper and the Vientiane Times from Laos, the Viet Nam News and the MONTSAME News Agency, joined domestic Chinese media for the tour, "40 Years of Reform and Opening-up: Foreign Media Focus on Jining".

On Oct 18, the reporters arrived in Qufu, birthplace of ancient Chinese sage and educator Confucius, and visited the Temple of Confucius, Kong Family Mansion, the Confucius Institute and Nishan Holy Land. The reporters gained some understanding of traditional Chinese culture through a series of cultural experiences, such as worshiping Confucius and transcribing Confucian classics.

Dao Khoa Thu, a reporter from the Viet Nam News, said that this was her first time visiting China and she was overwhelmed by the profound Chinese culture.

"Though there are Confucius Temples in Vietnam, none of them have such magnitude and cultural relics as the Confucius Temple in Qufu. The temple is located near the Cemetery of Confucius and the Kong Family Mansion, making it a perfect site to learn more about Confucius."

She added that she will recommend Qufu to her friends after returning to Vietnam, as "it is the perfect city to learn about Confucianism.”

On Oct 19, the reporters visited Yanzhou Industrial Park and Jining high-tech zone to explore the rapid economic development in the areas. A particular highlight of the visit centered on Shandong Sun Paper Co, the Huawai Shandong (Jining) Big Data Center, and Ruyi Group, a world-renowned innovative technology textile enterprise.

Tadele Kaleyesus Bekele, from the Reporter in Ethiopia, said, “We want to see Huawei and other Chinese companies come to Africa. I think China and Africa will have a lot of things to work together on in the future.”

On their last day, the reporters got an opportunity to experience the drum music of southeastern Shandong's national intangible cultural heritage, during a tour of Jiaxiang county, Jining. They were fascinated by the refreshing and uplifting classic "Bai Niao Chao Feng" (Song of the Phoenix) staged by a local orchestra.

Liang Haitao, curator of the Jiaxiang intangible cultural heritage exhibition hall, said the drum music of southeastern Shandong is an important genre of music in the province. It is a folk art form that features traditional suona (double-reeded horn) as its main instrument, and Jiaxiang county is one of the main areas where the music can be found.