“Lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets”

In the afternoon of October 16, after visiting Pujiang Water Control Theme Pavilion, Xinguang Village of Yuzhai township, and the Crystal Industrial Park, Oscar, a Bangladeshi student from Zhejiang Normal University (ZJNU), was deeply impressed, “I heard before that some waters are not clean, but today I saw the lucid Cuihu Lake, so that the environment is protected to improve the quality of life. We, as exchange students, have the responsibility to spread the culture and ideas of China to the world, and promote global development.”

On that day, the Foreign Affairs Office of Jinhua Municipal People’s Government (Jinhua FAO) and ZJNU jointly hosted the Field Study of China’s Conditions in Pujiang County, during which 40 international students from 26 countries and regions learned about Pujiang’s achievement in the fields of Water Movement, rural vitalization, and the remediation and upgrading of the crystal industry in recent years. From this field study, the students have gained deeper understanding about the principle of “lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets”.

In the morning of October 16, people spend weekend at Cuihu Lake, in which the clear water was ruffled by the wind, and two black swans were swimming happily.

“Why are you invited to Cuihu Lake?” The guide explained, “Because it is the beginning of both Pujiang and Zhejiang’s Water Movement. In the past, Cuihu Lake was filled with garbage, but after comprehensive treatment, its water quality reached Grade II and it became one of the first swimmable waters in the province.” Hearing this, the international students applauded enthusiastically. Irene from Nigeria walked to the lake’s edge and cupped some water in her hands to take a closer look, “It’s really clean, very clear, so the Water Movement does have an effect.”

In the Pujiang Water Control Theme Pavilion, the international students understood the initiatives and effects of Water Movement through various pictures, tables, and data, from which they deeply felt the great, hard-earned changes. Ali from Yemen said that he had not known much about the Water Movement, but through those photos, he could feel that the environment used to be very bad, but now it has become very beautiful and “it is meaningful to protect the environment”. Amina, an Algerian girl, was touched by the story of demolishing “the greatest villa” in the process of Water Movement. She said, “Why should such a beautiful villa be demolished? It turns out that a large area of it was constructed in a drinking water source protection zone, which was against the law. Therefore, it was torn down to protect the environment. Pujiang has went through 8 years to improve the environment and treat the sewage, which is amazing.”

At noon, the international students arrived at Xinguang Village of Yuzhai township. The village is a traditional Chinese village which had had more than 300 crystal processing workshops. During the Water Movement, the workshops were shut down, and the ancient village was protected and developed, whose number of visitors now exceeds one million a year. At the country music & folk song center in the Twenty-Nine Rooms Maker Base, Ugochinyer, a Nigerian girl with the Chinese name Wang Qian, sang “I love you China” in fluent Chinese, and her resonate and emotional voice won a burst of applause. In Xinguang Village, Wang Qian took pictures of the lucid Qian Sream, the magnificent Ancient Lingyan Manor, and the ancient street light she had never seen before. She loved the clean, beautiful, and revitalized village.

What about the relocation of those crystal processing workshops? Although the environment has been improved, how is the economic benefit? The students found the answer in Pujiang Crystal Industrial Park, where more than 1,000 companies gather, the sewage is treated in centralized plants, the industry is co-expanded, and crystal products have been brought to a broader international stage. After visiting a sewage treatment plant and seeing exquisite crystal handicrafts, the students were amazed, “The sludge after crystal processing can be made into bricks, interesting!” “This vase is so beautiful!” ... Joachim from Burundi went around a crystal handicraft and found that the statuette inside would follow him with her gaze. He was surprised, “How was the statuette made inside?” When he learned that it was made by laser engraving technology, he had an aha moment.

After the field trip, the international students were deeply moved and spoke enthusiastically at the Views Exchange on “Lucid Waters and Lush Mountains are Invaluable Assets”.

Oscar from Bangladesh quoted from General Secretary Xi Jinping’s reply to international students at Peking University, “To understand China today, you must understand the Communist Party of China”. He thanked the Jinhua FAO and ZJNU for organizing the Field Study of China’s Conditions and considered it a wonderful journey, “It is a good experience for us to study in China. Some people have never been to China. Since we know more about Chinese culture and ideas, we have the responsibility to transmit Chinese culture and ideas to people around us and to other countries.”

Living in Jinhua for 5 years, Wang Qian has been to Wuyi, Dongyang, Yiwu, and Lanxi. However, it was her first visit to Pujiang. “I didn’t expect here to be such a good place with such good stories. I was very touched. It really is better to see by myself than to hear a hundred times. This kind of activity shows a China different from the books. Only if I experience it, can I understand the real China. I am willing to bring back the knowledge I have learned to my country who also needs to develop. We have many to learn from China.”

Mr. Guo Zhongming, director of the Jinhua FAO, said that all of the 40 international students are Chinese government scholarship winners and also the backbone force for future world development. The aim of this trip is to enable them to have a comprehensive, three-dimensional and realistic understanding of how Pujiang integrates ecological civilization construction into all aspects of economic and social construction. In addition, Mr. Guo hoped that the students can think deeply about what they have seen and heard, apply the successful experience and practices of ecological civilization construction, become the messengers of strengthening green international cooperation and sharing the achievements of green development, and contribute their strength to jointly build a community of life for man and nature. Besides, they are welcome to introduce their ideas and experiences to more people, so as to play an active role in promoting people-to-people exchanges.

It is reported that the trip to Pujiang is the third stop of the Field Study of China’s Conditions, which was jointly created by Jinhua FAO and ZJNU in the first half of this year. Through field visits and immersive experiences, this event plans to help internationals better understand the real China. So far, 108 international students from 49 countries and regions have participated in the event. In the future, Jinhua FAO will build multiple routes for study of China’s conditions based on the characteristics of Jinhua’s primary-level governance and industries.