A field trip for international students focusing on introducing China's achievement and experience in poverty reduction was held in Wuyi county of Jinhua, Zhejiang province, on June 2, showcasing the region's social and economic development.

The event, co-hosted by Foreign Affairs Office of Jinhua Municipal Government and Zhejiang Normal University, aimed to present a real, dynamic and all-round picture of the social and economic development of Jinhua city. A total of 29 international students from 18 countries including the United States, Cameroon, South Korea and Nigeria attended.

The group visited poverty reduction exhibition hall that tells stories of fighting against poverty, local communities of residents who are now out of poverty and a mountainous village turned rich by developing tourism.

Guo Zhongming, director of the FAO of Jinhua, said that the event is expected to provide immersive experience for the international students to have a real understanding of China's efforts in poverty alleviation.

"I do hope that these international students can become bridges linking their home countries and China. Let them tell the true Chinese story and let the world to know China, to know Jinhua better," he said.

Wuyi is a mountainous county and was once one of the eight poorest counties in Zhejiang province due to poor public transportation and lack of resources. In the past 28 years, the county has made huge progresses in getting local residents out of poverty. In the first quarter of this year, average per capita disposable income of the county reached 7,206 yuan ($1,128.7), hitting a record high in five years.

Mohamed Said Abduqadir is from Somali. He said that the biggest impression he had through this event is the strong will of Chinese government to reduce poverty. "I can see that local villagers here are happy with their lives now and they are really benefiting from government policies," he said, adding that he thought the experiences could be borrowed from his motherland.

Abduqadir majors in teaching Chinese as a foreign language, and he plans to go back to Somali after graduation.

"Somali is still poor now. I think we can learn a lot from China in terms of poverty alleviation," he said.

According to the FAO of Jinhua, this event is the first of a series of activities to letting foreigners in Jinhua to understand China better. In the future, more activities will be held on multiple topics, covering more foreigners in the city.