Foreign journalists see tradition meet modernity in Xi’an, NW China

Andres Flores, a journalist and news anchor from Argentina's A24 TV station, reports at the Emperor Qinshihuang's Mausoleum Site Museum. (People's Daily/Liu Long)

Senior journalists participating in a media workshop for Belt and Road News Network (BRNN) applauded Xi’an for blending tradition with modernity, during a trip to the northwestern Chinese city on September 21, 2019.

During their stay, they visited the terracotta warriors and horses at Emperor Qinshihuang's Mausoleum Site Museum in the city suburbs.

"The terracotta warriors were only in our history books! And now it's real!" Reporters from Chile and Peru said excitedly.

Armando Melga, a journalist for a Costa Rican newspaper, said that when he saw the terracotta warriors and horses from textbooks back at home, he yearned to visit and see them in person. He never thought he could come to China one day and have a look at the real terracotta warriors and horses. "This is really the realization of my childhood dream!”

Valeria Alejandra from Chile and Cindy Paula from Peru were both fascinated by the phenomenon of Xi’an citizens scanning their mobile phones to pay for everything.

"Someone took a picture of us curiously watching how a local pedestrian bought what he wanted from a vending machine through cashless payment." Valeria joked that she was so obsolete.

Foreign journalists interview a museum worker. (People's Daily/Liu Long)

Marco Antonio, a journalist with Ecuador's Confirmado news network, said that China's development has attracted worldwide attention. Many people in Ecuador are very interested in China.

"China is awesome!” said Grasia Varalino, a journalist from Uruguay's La Republic newspaper, after visiting the terracotta warriors. "I am very moved that China, with its long history, has achieved so much today." She added that to understand China, people must understand its history.

Andres Flores, a journalist and news anchor from Argentina's A24 TV station, who is on his third visit to China, said that media exchanges are necessary and that this media workshop offers him a chance to learn about the real China and bring reports back to his country for more people to understand. Andres also said that there has been a lot of interest about China in his country. "Once we did a live broadcast about Beijing and a lot of viewers called us and said China is so developed!"