A series of micro-videos, titled Foreign Heads of States on the Great Wall, will be launched on streaming media.
The first of the 15-episode series, jointly produced by the Information Office of the Beijing government, GMW.cn and the China Public Diplomacy Association, aims to convey shared values of peace and friendship, and promote interpersonal exchange and mutual understanding among civilizations.
Starting Friday, the series will be released in two episodes per day on the multimedia platforms of the three co-producers, as well as on other major websites and social media.
The Great Wall, over 2,000 years old and more than 20,000 kilometers in length, is an historical and cultural wonder of the world. The Badaling section is a UNESCO world cultural heritage site and a popular tourist destination, and has received more than 520 heads of state and government since 1954.
The production team selected 15 foreign leaders from 14 countries; India, the US, the UK, Pakistan, Nepal, Poland, Greece, Italy, Russia, Ireland, Latvia, Cuba, Cote d'Ivoire and Uruguay, and made the series using old footage and images.
The launch ceremony was held at the 2022 Beijing Media Center on Friday. Moin ul Haque, Pakistani Ambassador to China, said in a video message that the Great Wall is known around the world for its rich history and folklore. Many Pakistani leaders have walked the Wall, and as a friend of China, Pakistan helped restore a section in the 1980s.
The micro-videos will not only serve as an important record of history and of the memory of the heads of state to have visited the Great Wall, but will also help promote friendship, cooperation and solidarity between nations, he added.
Luo Linquan, deputy director of the China Public Diplomacy Association, said that he had accompanied many foreign leaders to the Great Wall, and that they had all been impressed by the majesty of its architecture.
"The Great Wall showcases China's fine tradition of loving peace and seeking common ground while respecting difference. It demonstrates that the Chinese nation has been influential in the world, not through militarism or foreign expansion, but through the powerful appeal and attractiveness of Chinese culture," he said.
Xu Hejian, director of the 2022 Beijing Media Center, said that the Great Wall represents the spirits of peace and development, which are also the aspirations of people all over the world today.
"We are taking these Beijing stories and Great Wall stories to the world in the form of micro-videos to showcase the glory and responsibility of Beijing as the City of the Two Olympic Games, and we hope that more and more people will get to know and love Beijing as a result," he said.
