Italian President Sergio Mattarella toured the Summer Palace in Beijing on Thursday, after arriving in China earlier in the day for a six-day state visit at the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The once imperial garden, located in the western suburb of Beijing, is the first place the Italian president visited on his first trip to China since February 2017.
He was accompanied by his daughter Laura and several Italian ministerial officials.
During the nearly one-hour trip, Mattarella learned about stories in China's history and garden landscaping in the long corridor, climbed atop the Longevity Hill to explore similarities and differences between Chinese and Italian religious cultures, and took a cruise to enjoy the sunset over the Kunming Lake.
China and Italy both have ancient civilizations. The mutual attraction between them has become precious wealth for both sides and continues to this day.
Mattarella also said earlier that promoting the exploration of the potential of the cultural and creative industries of Italy and China could bring fruitful results to both sides.
Choosing the Summer Palace as the first stop of the Italian president's visit to China also shows Italy's willingness to deepen cooperation with China in cultural heritage protection.
This year marks the 20th anniversary of the China-Italy comprehensive strategic partnership.
In July, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni visited China. In less than half a year, two important Italian politicians have visited China successively, highlighting the high level of development of China-Italy relations.
The two countries expect to take the opportunity to further expand practical cooperation and people-to-people and cultural exchanges.
The Summer Palace is the largest and best-preserved imperial garden in China, and among the most noted classical gardens in the world. It was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1998.
Italian president tours Summer Palace in Beijing
A new chapter has been opened in the decades-old campaign of fighting desertification in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region as the 3,046-km green belt encircling the Taklimakan Desert in the region was completed on November 28, 2024.
The Taklimakan Desert, once known as the "sea of death," covers 337,600 square kilometers and its circumference measures 3,046 km, making it the largest desert in China and the second-largest drifting desert in the world.
It has taken more than 40 years to fully enclose the desert with a green belt. This incredible achievement is part of China's Three-North Shelterbelt Forest Program, the world's largest afforestation initiative. The program was launched in 1978 and is scheduled to be completed by 2050.
Xinjiang's commitment to fighting desertification did not waver following the green belt's completion. Instead, the region is continuing to expand and fortify the belt to achieve broader ecological management objectives.
Despite subzero temperatures and recent snowfall, the relentless work at the sand control site persists.
In Yutian County on the edge of the Taklimakan Desert, workers are busy leveling a 530-hectare piece of sandy land for the forthcoming ecological conservation endeavors.
"It's been almost a month, and we'll work for another three or four days, and then we'll have leveled it out here," said a bulldozer driver working on-site.
In Luopu County also on the edge of the Taklimakan Desert, workers are preparing red willow branches in nurseries for planting across more than 400 hectares of desert in the coming spring. Indigenous sand-fixing plants like sacsaoul and red willow are poised to assume important roles in fighting desertification the upcoming year.
The green belt surrounding the Taklimakan Desert not only emphasizes ecological conservation but also highlights economic progress. Through photovoltaic projects, the region is pioneering a novel ecological management strategy aimed at achieving dual objectives of environmental preservation and economic prosperity. This approach not only aids in fighting desertification, but also promises economic benefits, propelling sustainable development in the area.
Presently, the construction of a photovoltaic project within the Taklimakan Desert is busy underway, with workers installing solar panels. By spring, sand fixing plants like alfalfa and Chinese fountain grass will be planted below these panels, making the project a good example for the exploration of a new win-win model of ecological governance and economic development in Xinjiang.
Xinjiang opens new chapter in fighting desertification
