On August 1, with the theme of "Beautiful Qinghai", Qinghai unveiled one of its mysteries to the world on its provincial day in the China Pavilion of the Astana Expo.

Cao Hong, deputy head of the Qinghai Provincial People's Congress Standing Committee, Yu Jianlong, general-secretary of China Chamber of International Commerce (CCOIC), Zhang Hanhui, Chinese ambassador to Kazakhstan, Erenov Ayan Aidarovich, chairman of National Chamber of Entrepreneurs of the Republic of Kazakhstan (NCE), attended and addressed the opening ceremony.

More than 120 people including officials, scholars and business executives from Kazakhstan, pavilion representatives and curators from other countries, officials of relevant departments of Qinghai province and representatives and entrepreneurs from China and other countries also attended the ceremony.

Cao Hong, deputy head of the Qinghai Provincial People's Congress Standing Committee, delivers a speech.

Cao Hong pointed out that there are great cooperation potentials between Qinghai and Kazakhstan, in the light of Qinghai's geographical and resource advantages. In recent years, Qinghai has been committed to promoting the green development and a higher level of opening up. Qinghai will make full use of the platform to promote the in-depth negotiations between the enterprises of the two nations, and achieve more practical results.

Yu Jianlong, general-secretary of China Chamber of International Commerce (CCOIC), delivers a speech.

Yu Jianlong said that China and Kazakhstan are good neighbors, and this year marks the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Kazakhstan and also the China Tourism Year in Kazakhstan. China's participation in the expo is conducive to promoting development and cooperation on economics and trade, and culture and tourism between China and Kazakhstan. Qinghai, located in the center of China and Central Asia economic zone, comprises of the Silk Road trading routes.

He also hopes that Qinghai will grasp this opportunity to further deepen exchanges and cooperation with Kazakhstan and neighboring countries, and make greater contributions to the construction of the Belt and Road Initiative.

Zhang Hanhui, Chinese ambassador to Kazakhstan, delivers a speech.

Zhang Hanhui said that Qinghai, meaning the "Spring of Life", is the choke point of ancient Silk Road that connected China and Kazakhstan. There are obvious advantages that can come out of the cooperation on agriculture, animal husbandry, tourism, Tibetan medicine and other fields between the two nations. Through the event, he hopes people gain more insights into Qinghai.

Erenov Ayan Aidarovich, chairman of National Chamber of Entrepreneurs of the Republic of Kazakhstan (NCE), delivers a speech.

Erenov stressed that the event offers a cooperation opportunity for the enterprises of the two nations. He said that Chinese entrepreneurs are encouraged to invest in Kazakhstan, and hopes there will be more in-depth cooperation in energy and other fields in the future.

Several cooperation agreements were signed at the opening ceremony, including agreements between Qinghai CCPIT and NCE, agreements between Qinghai Tibetan Sheep Carpets (group) Ltd and a company from Kazakhstan.

During the event, the Qinghai delegation played the solo Erhu (a Chinese two-stringed bowed instrument) piece and performed dances and songs to show Qinghai's colorful and unique culture. Other activities were also held, including energy promotion and economic and trade exchange fairs, bringing Chinese and Kazakhstan enterprises together. More than 70 representatives from the enterprises of China and Kazakhstan discussed the cooperation on fields such as energy, agriculture, animal husbandry and textile industries, and achieved several cooperation agreements.

Shu Huan, deputy government representative and curator of China Pavilion, attended the opening ceremony.