The Yangtze River Cultural and Artistic Season officially commenced in Wuhan, the capital city of Central China's Hubei Province, with a spectacular opening ceremony on Saturday night, featuring a dazzling fireworks display, a heart-stirring drone performance, and a vibrant light show along the Yangtze River banks. The event committee stated on Sunday that a series of cultural events are scheduled to take place during the season to better promote the culture and history of the Yangtze River.

During the opening ceremony, thousands of drones fluidly changed formations in the sky, showcasing landmarks from China's thirteen provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities along the Yangtze River, including the Three Gorges Dam in Hubei and Hongya Cave in Southwest China's Chongqing Municipality.

Fireworks lit up the night sky, creating a poetic and picturesque scene, prompting locals to capture the moment with their smartphones.

"I could deeply feel the profound cultural heritage of the Yangtze River basin, and I'm proud to live by the Yangtze River," said a 70-year-old resident surnamed Zhang, according to the report of people.cn.

On Sunday, the organizing committee of the Yangtze River Cultural and Artistic Season published a "Thank you" letter to the citizens of Wuhan on a local WeChat public account. The letter emphasized the season's goal of preserving the Yangtze River's cultural legacy and creating a platform for exchange, highlighting its millennia-old cultural heritage.

The committee expressed gratitude to the people of Wuhan for their enthusiastic participation, which has made the city "more vibrant and charming." The letter praised the local community for their "civility, hospitality, and orderly conduct," which have enhanced Wuhan's image as a civilized city.

According to the letter, the Yangtze River Cultural and Artistic Season will last for two months, featuring themed art exhibitions, film weeks, stage art exhibitions, choir weeks, reading weeks, literature weeks, and intangible cultural heritage exhibitions, showcasing the essence and charm of the Yangtze River culture.

Pan Junjie, the person in charge of the film week, told the Global Times on Sunday that over 100 films, including blockbusters like The Wandering Earth series and The Battle at Lake Changjin, and documentaries related to Yangtze River culture, have been aired at more than 400 locations across Hubei Province.

He add that a 3D documentary, New Three Gorges, will be launched on Thursday to further promote the culture of the Yangtze River.

One of the highlights during the event is that the Yangtze River Culture Institute was inaugurated on Saturday. The institute aims to promote the creation and dissemination of cultural products and symbols that embody the values of Yangtze River culture. 

Huang Taiyan, a research fellow from Wuhan University, pointed out at a seminar that the Yangtze River culture is one of the most representative and influential cultures of Chinese civilization, containing the civilization genes of the Chinese nation and irrigating the common spiritual homeland of the Chinese nation. 

He expressed hope that the institute could become "a key international communication base for Chinese culture," according to a document the local publicity department sent to the Global Times on Sunday.

Cultural exchanges between China and other countries in 2023 showed a rapid recovery and positive trajectory, thanks to a focus on balancing security and development while prioritizing cooperation and mutual benefit, says the Report on China's Cultural Exchanges with the World released at the Beijing Culture Forum on Thursday.

Nowadays, Generation Z are serving as the new main force to push forward the cultural exchanges between China and other countries, according to the report, which details the result of research on China's cultural exchanges with the world in 2023.

Global youths are increasingly engaging with China's rich culture as rapidly developing digital technology drives innovations in content, models, and formats. This creates new opportunities for global Gen Z to foster peace and friendship through mutual understanding, travel, and cultural exchange. 

American vlogger Paul Mike Ashton likely never imagined his video about traveling in China would go viral, popularizing the "city or not city" meme. Known as "Hug Hug Bear" or Bao Bao Xiong in Chinese, Ashton captured viral attention with a vlog during a visit to the Great Wall in Beijing with his sister, garnering more than 10 million views on Douyin, China's version of TikTok.

The hashtag "China Travel," where people share their experiences of visiting the country, has become a global sensation, attracting millions of international tourists. 

In 2023, a series of immigration and entry-exit facilitation policies were introduced for foreign travelers, setting off an upsurge of foreign tourists visiting China and enhancing friendship and mutual trust between Chinese and foreign people. The number of inbound and outbound tourists exceeded 190 million, and Chinese tourists' overseas consumption reached $196.5 billion in the year 2023. 

The 2023 China International Tourism Mart has attracted tourism promotion agencies and related enterprises from more than 70 countries and regions to participate in the exhibition, and the intangible cultural heritage experience has been widely welcomed.

China's rapidly advancing digital technologies like virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality enable people worldwide to experience foreign cultures through immersive, panoramic experiences.

Perceptions of culture and communication methods are evolving swiftly. China's new exhibitions including "Panorama Forbidden City" digital virtual experience and the "Dunhuang Discovery" VR immersive exhibition bring immersive cultural experiences to overseas people.

In his speech at the Beijing Culture Forum, Xie Chuntao, a vice president of the Party School of the CPC Central Committee (National Academy of Governance), mentioned the continuous popular game Black Myth: Wukong. 

He noted, "Many foreign players started studying the novel Journey to the West to better understand the game, which reflects the growing global appeal of Chinese culture."

Online games, TV series, and literature are becoming the primary vehicles for Chinese culture to reach global audiences. Behind this is the result of Generation Z becoming the new main force in cultural exchanges between China and foreign countries.

The growing use of social media platforms like Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok promotes instant information sharing and fosters mutual respect and cultural understanding. 

Generation Z excels at leveraging new technologies and media. They create cross-cultural art works, launch online cultural activities, and participate in international volunteer projects, which help the world see hot buzz words like "city or not city" and "China Travel."

The bridge that connects China and the world has also become wider and wilder as the people-to-people contact becomes the new trend, strengthening the bonds of friendship between nations.

As EU countries are expected to vote on whether to impose additional tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles (EVs) on Friday, dissenting voices have grown louder.

Germany is expected to vote against the tariffs on Chinese EVs in Friday’s vote, Reuters reported on Thursday, citing people with knowledge of the matter. Reuters also reported that a German government spokesperson declined to comment. 

Germany abstained in a non-binding vote in July on the European Commission's (EC) proposal to impose tariffs. Since then, German carmakers, which made a third of their sales last year in China, have pressured the government to oppose these tariffs. 

IG Metall, the powerful German labor union, along with employee representatives from the nation's major carmakers, said in a statement on Thursday that Germany should vote against the introduction of EU tariffs on Chinese EVs.

"We say unequivocally: tariffs are the wrong approach because they will not improve the competitiveness of the European automotive industry," they said in a joint statement.

German carmaker Volkswagen on Wednesday urged Germany to vote against the EU tariffs, arguing that they would not improve the competitiveness of the auto industry.

Another German carmaker BMW also urged the German government to tread cautiously regarding proposed tariffs on Chinese EVs in a statement released on Wednesday.

In addition to Germany, Spain has called for the EU to seek a compromise and negotiated outcome with China. 

Instead of imposing tariffs, the EU should "keep negotiations open ... beyond the binding vote" to reach a deal on prices and the relocation of battery production to the bloc, Spain’s Economy Minister Carlos Cuerpo wrote in a letter to European Commission Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis, as reported by Reuters.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said last month during a visit to China that the EU should reconsider its position on tariffs, and urged Brussels and Beijing to avoid a trade war.

Hungary has also expressed strong opposition, with Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto stating on Facebook on Thursday that Budapest would vote against the "harmful and dangerous" plan.

China has engaged in extensive talks with the EC and EU member states regarding the EV tariffs. In September, Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao visited Italy, Germany, Belgium and the EU headquarters, where he held in-depth and constructive talks with the heads of relevant departments, especially with European Commission Executive Vice President and Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis on the EU's anti-subsidy case against China's EVs. The two sides reached a preliminary consensus on the direction of negotiations for a proper resolution of the matter. 

The European Commission announced in July that it will impose provisional countervailing duties on imports of battery electric vehicles from China, ranging from 17.4 percent to 37.6 percent. 

The EU duties would become definitive for five years if approved by representatives of the bloc's 27 member states in Friday's vote. Experts believe EU’s increasingly protectionist moves will negatively impact Europe's green transition and consumer interests, definitely triggering countermeasures from the Chinese side, and an escalation in trade frictions will lead only to lose-lose results for both sides. 

In a remarkable historical discovery coinciding with the 130th anniversary of the Sino-Japanese war of 1894-95, a new grave of the Qing Dynasty's Beiyang Fleet has been unearthed at St. John's Cemetery in Newcastle, the UK.

The tombstone was uncovered by PhD candidates Yu Jiarui at Durham University and Qi Yongqiang, president of the Northern Britain Chinese Entrepreneurs Association. It marks the sixth documented grave of Beiyang Fleet personnel at the cemetery. The grave, belonging to a civilian member of the fleet surnamed Gan, who passed away on August 7, 1887 during Emperor Guangxu's reign (1871-1908), sheds light on a lesser-known chapter of Chinese naval history in Europe.

A hidden piece of history

Before this discovery, five graves of Beiyang sailors were discovered in St. John's Cemetery. These sailors were part of a mission to the UK to receive warships ordered by the government of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), including vessels like the Chaoyong, Yangwei, Zhiyuan, and Jingyuan. Tragically, five sailors died of illness during their stay in the UK in 1881 and 1887, and were buried at the cemetery.

Gan's grave, however, had remained undiscovered for over a century. His tombstone reveals that he, like the others, traveled to the UK to assist with the fleet's mission but passed away aboard the Jingyuan. Unlike the other five sailors, Gan was a civilian, which adds a new dimension to the historical narrative of the Beiyang Fleet's activities in Europe.

"Historical research can never gather all the materials from the world, so it's crucial to cherish the materials we can access and explore them thoroughly without missing any details," Yu told the Global Times, explaining how he came across burial records in the Tyne and Wear Archives that pointed to the existence of Gan's grave.

After conducting field surveys from May to September 2024, Yu and Qi located the tombstone, which had been partially buried.

"The cemetery is quite large, covering 28 acres and containing over 100,000 graves. However, once we narrowed down the area using the section and plot numbers, finding the sixth Chinese grave became less difficult," Yu explained.

The grave, partially buried with its inscription hidden, was eventually found in September 2024.

Its distinct obelisk shape and different inscription style had caused it to be overlooked.

This suggests that the repairs made when Admiral Cheng Biguang revisited Newcastle in 1911 can be further researched. Additionally, Gan's tombstone lacks some features found on the other graves, leading to speculation about possible repairs made when Admiral Cheng visited Newcastle in 1911.

While Gan's grave has been found, much about his life remains a mystery.

It is known that he was a scholar who held the rank of xiucai, a term used to describe educated youth in ancient China, making him the most senior and educated among the six individuals buried at St John's. However, his personal life and exact role within the fleet remain unclear. Researchers believe further investigation into records in China could provide more insight.

Some scholars have since proposed that Gan might have been a doctor, a civilian role that would have distinguished his interactions with the British from those of military personnel. This discovery has sparked renewed interest in the civilian contributions to the Beiyang Fleet's mission in Europe, highlighting the diverse nature of the fleet's presence abroad.
Deeper connections

The discovery of Gan's grave is part of a broader effort to document the Beiyang Fleet's activities in Europe.

Throughout the 1880s and into the early 20th century, the fleet maintained an extensive presence in the UK and other parts of Europe. Sailors trained at naval academies, purchased ships, and engaged with local communities. Historical records indicate that the sailors developed close ties with the people of Newcastle by attending events and even being featured in local newspapers.

St. John's Cemetery, where the sailors rest, has become a symbolic site for the shared history between China and the UK. In December 2016, the National Cultural Heritage Administration entrusted the China Foundation for Cultural Heritage Conservation to conduct restoration work on the sailors' graves, which was completed in December 2018.

In recent years, it has attracted attention from Chinese expatriates, students, and historians who come to pay their respects and learn more about this chapter of Chinese naval history.

The Northern Britain Chinese Entrepreneurs Association is actively involved in the restoration and preservation of these graves. Each year, the local Chinese community holds memorial events at the cemetery during the Qingming Festival in April, honoring the Beiyang sailors and educating visitors about their legacy.

On September 17, the 130th anniversary of the sinking of the Beiyang Fleet cruiser the Zhiyuan, Tang Rui, the Chinese Consul General in Manchester, visited St. John's Cemetery to pay his respects at the sailors' graves. His visit underscored the importance of remembering the sacrifices of the Beiyang Fleet and highlighted the deeper cultural and historical connections between China and the UK.

"We got a lot of support from the UK and China, which gave us much guidance in terms of future work," Qi told the Global Times, adding that local British people have also expressed great interest in the graves' significance, "recognizing them as symbols of Newcastle's once-prominent role in international naval history and a testament to the enduring relationship between China and the UK," Qi added.

The discovery of Gan's grave has reinvigorated research into the Beiyang Fleet's time in the UK. Scholars hope it will inspire further exploration into the lives of the sailors who traveled halfway across the world but never returned home, and preserve their legacy for future generations.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi gave a speech at the general debate of the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA 79) in New York, reiterating China's dedication to peace as the path to addressing global conflicts and crises. The speech reaffirmed China's perspectives on the world, security, development, and civilization, showing China's strong confidence in peace and development while expressing concern about the current turbulent global situation, analysts said.   

Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, delivered a speech titled "Building on past achievements and forging ahead together toward a community with a shared future for mankind" at the UNGA 79 in New York on Saturday local time. 

As the world faces increasingly serious challenges, China has never opted to be an indifferent spectator. Instead, we have been playing a bigger part in global governance than ever before. Chinese President Xi Jinping has put forth the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative and the Global Civilization Initiative in recent years. They carry China's wisdom for resolving various difficult issues confronting humanity and bring impetus from China for improving global governance, Wang said in the speech. 

The three major initiatives contribute Chinese wisdom and solutions to improve global governance, address changes in the world, and tackle humanity's challenges. They call for abandoning the old mentality of bloc confrontation and zero-sum thinking, advocate for a common, comprehensive, cooperative, and sustainable security perspective to achieve lasting peace and security in the world, Li Haidong, a professor from the China Foreign Affairs University, told the Global Times. 

The initiatives seek inclusive development and respect for the diversity of civilizations, rather than viewing inter-country differences with arrogance. China's core propositions in global governance clearly demonstrate the responsibilities of a responsible major global power, said Li. 

During his speech on Saturday, Wang also expounded on the contribution of Chinese modernization to the world, explaining in detail the implication of Chinese modernization for the world and touching on four aspects: world peace and stability, common development, global governance and human civilization. Chinese modernization will contribute robustly to world peace and stability and "every step in China's development is an increase in the force for peace," said Wang. 

The speech clearly articulated the significance of Chinese modernization to the international community, highlighting that China is a peace-loving nation focused on its own prosperity and improving the living standards of its people. Meanwhile, it also conveyed China's proactive stance in participating in international affairs, maintaining global stability, and advocating for justice on the international stage, said Li. 

While emphasizing China's willingness to cooperate with the international community to address global challenges, China also firmly opposes the hegemonic and unilateral practices of certain countries, particularly unilateral sanctions and blockades, as well as their attempts to dominate an unjust international economic order, Zhu Yongbiao, executive director of the Research Center for the Belt and Road at Lanzhou University, told the Global Times. 

In the address, Wang reiterated China's dedication to peace as the path to addressing global conflicts and crises, including those of Ukraine, Palestine and Afghanistan, saying "Peace is the most precious thing in our world today. You may wonder if there is a path leading to peace. In fact, peace is the path." 

On the Ukraine crisis, Wang said the top priority is to commit to "no expansion of the battlefield, no escalation of fighting and no provocation by any party," and push for de-escalation of the situation as soon as possible.

The Saturday speech has garnered global attention, with many Western media outlets focusing on China's proposals regarding the Ukraine crisis and the Middle East. Analysts notes that while the US and a few certain countries have criticized China's peace efforts, a growing number are expressing support. For instance, Reuters reported that Switzerland's foreign affairs ministry has expressed support for the peace plan proposed by China and Brazil.

Unlike some Western countries and the US which are adding oil to the fire for their own interests, China and other countries of the Global South are intensifying efforts for peace, analysts said.  

During the Saturday speech, Wang also reiterated China's stance on the Taiwan question. He told world leaders in the audience that Taiwan being "an inalienable part of China's territory" is both "the history and the reality" and there is no "gray zone" or "room for ambiguity" regarding Resolution 2758. 

While some anti-China forces and "Taiwan independence" separatist forces are attempting to "reinterpret" Resolution 2758 to undermine the one-China principle and increase the island of Taiwan's international presence, Wang's remarks on the Taiwan question at UNGA 79 clarify right from wrong, exposing the lies of these anti-China forces and separatists to the international community, Li said. 

Resolution 2758 must be abode by and respected, Li said, noting that anti-China forces in the US as well as "Taiwan independence" separatists should not harbor any illusions about undermining it.