German Cultural Envoys Travel Silk Road by Bus

The Arrival Ceremony of "The Belt and Road—Traveling the Silk Road" 2019 Hamburg-Shanghai Cultural Envoys Crossing Eurasia Along New Silk Road Held at Shanghai Tower

On the afternoon of July 5, two buses full of "cultural envoys traveling the new Silk Road" arrived at the Shanghai Tower, the last stop of the event of "The Belt and Road—Traveling the Silk Road" 2019 Hamburg-Shanghai Cultural Envoys Crossing Eurasia Along New Silk Road. Having traveled more than 10,000 kilometers across Eurasia along the Silk Road for 53 days, these cultural envoys from Hamburg, Germany, finally arrived at the starting point of the Silk Road – China. On the journey, they had experienced in person the new vitality of this ancient trade road in the "Belt and Road" development.

The event is jointly organized by the Gesellschaft für Deutsche-Chineseische Verständigung e.V., the China Tours Hamburg CTH GmbH and the Zeit REISEN under the German Times, with support from the Hamburg Liaison Office China, Shanghai Municipal Administration of Culture and Tourism, Shanghai Public Diplomacy Association, Shanghai Tower, Utour China, etc. The event that has been held for four consecutive years aims to enhance two-way exchanges between Germany and China and promote the Belt and Road Initiative and tourism along the new Silk Road. On the occasion of celebrating the 70th anniversary of the founding of New China, this year's event is an even better opportunity to further enhance understanding and promote cooperation between the two sides.

55 cultural envoys from all walks of life set out from Hamburg, Germany, on May 16. On the customized buses, they traveled across nearly 13,000 kilometers along the Silk Road for 53 days, passing 8 countries, including Germany, Poland, Belarus, Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and China, before finally arriving at the terminal Shanghai on July 5.

The German Times is an authoritative media agency in Germany founded by Helmut Schmidt, the former West German chancellor. Its audience is mostly intellectuals and the middle class who have received higher education. Most of the cultural envoys involved in this event are their loyal readers. Reporters of the German Times followed and reported the whole journey, and Silk Road scholars gave lectures on the way. They have spread and witnessed the 33-year profound friendship between Hamburg and Shanghai along the New Silk Road.

After the cultural envoys arrived at the Shanghai Tower, the organizers held a grand welcoming ceremony for them at the specially selected Exhibition Hall of the Shanghai Tower. The Dunhuang Culture exhibition is currently underway in the Exhibition Hall, bringing about an echo between the cultural envoys of the new Silk Road and the cultural achievements of the ancient Silk Road. It's really amazing that the spirit of the Silk Road has been carried on.

Ms. Pan Hua, Chief Representative of the Hamburg Liaison Office China, Mr. Chen Ping, Director of the Publicity and Promotion Department of Shanghai Municipal Administration of Culture and Tourism, Mr. Dao Shuming, Vice President of Shanghai Public Diplomacy Association, Mr. Gu Jianping, Party Secretary and General Manager of Shanghai Tower Construction & Development Co., Ltd., and Mr. Liu Guosheng, President of Gesellschaft für Deutsch-Chinesische Verständigung e.V., attended the arrival ceremony upon invitation and took photos with the cultural exchange envoys from Germany, jointly witnessing the long-standing close relationship between China and Germany.