On July 15th, a joint delegation of overseas Chinese from Portugal arrived in Beijing and kicked off the wonderful China trip they had prepared for a long time. The 12-member joint delegation was mostly from Qingtian, Zhejiang. The delegation was led by Cai Wenxian, President of the Portuguese Chinese Chamber of Commerce, and Liu Jianyun, President of the Portuguese Chinese Chamber of Commerce in China, promoted the trip. The ten-day itinerary was intense and fulfilling. I visited Beijing, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Lishui, Qingtian and other places. Everywhere I went, it was highly valued and warmly welcomed by relevant departments.

The head of the delegation, Cai Wenxian, said: "We went all the way from Beijing to Shanghai and then to Hangzhou. The enthusiasm and care of the relevant departments were really meticulous, which made me feel especially warm. In Beijing, the leaders of the Office of Overseas Chinese Affairs and the United Front Work Department of the Central Committee met with us. And provide support for our journey along the way."

Deputy head of delegation Liu Jianyun said: “We have been preparing for this event for four full months. The Chinese Embassy in Portugal has been matching and helping us after knowing our intention to return to China for a look. These days, the Ambassador The museum actively pays attention to our itinerary and keeps in touch."

From July 21 to 23, a joint delegation came to Qingtian to inspect the economic and cultural development. It is more than 300 kilometers from Hangzhou to Qingtian. A few decades ago, most of them climbed mountains and waded from here, went abroad, and sailed across the ocean to Portugal. At that time, the mountains and rivers that affected the wanderers of other hometowns passed by at this time, and the ups and downs of the hard work of the other hometowns all turned into a torrent of inner torrents, and pride and joy were beyond words. This is exactly the scene of the wonderful China trip of the Portuguese overseas Chinese community.

"China is changing too fast! Every time I come back, I feel that I can't keep up with the pace. Like Alipay and WeChat Pay, these are rare in Portugal. This time I came back, I seldom bring cash. I used to go out to purchase goods to buy goods. , I think it’s really “sweeping” goods now.” Liu Wenyong, the vice president of the Portuguese Chinese Overseas Chinese Chamber of Commerce, said as he took out his mobile phone and clicked on Alipay to demonstrate.

Zhan Liang, secretary-general of the delegation, has been abroad for 26 years. He recalled the experience of returning to China in the 1990s and was full of emotion. "That time when I returned to Qingtian, the car was walking on the mountainside. A landslide was encountered on the way and it was blocked. I couldn't walk for dozens of kilometers. The road took two days." Speaking of this, the car that the delegation took Passing through the tunnels, walking on the straight and wide highway, quickly straight to Qingtian. He added: “Now it’s only two hours from Hangzhou to Qingtian by high-speed rail.”

During the inspection of the joint delegation in Qingtian, county leaders Zhou Heping, Chen Ming, Zou Zheqing, Zou Chunping, Zhong Qiuhao, Zhan Wenliang, and Liu Xinqing personally accompanied them. The delegation first visited the Ante Group to learn more about the company's development history, party building work and the development of the Ante Industrial Park, and discussed with the head of the group the business opportunities and difficulties encountered in the smart meter industry at home and abroad.

Ante Group Chairman Liu Jianwu (first from left) introduced the Group’s industrial park to Mr. Cai Wenxian and his party

Chairman Liu Jianwu accompanied the delegation to visit the company's production workshop

At the Qingtian Stone Sculpture Museum, the delegation learned in detail about the production process and development history of Qingtian stone sculptures. When they saw the exquisite stone carvings, the members of the delegation praised Qingtian stone carvings for their peculiar ideas, and the carving skills in accordance with their aptitude and color.

A group photo of the members of the delegation and the reception staff to visit the Qingtian Stone Sculpture Museum

On the afternoon of the 22nd, the delegation visited the Ni Dongfang Art Museum and signed the "Strategic Cooperation Agreement on the Construction of Qingtian Cultural Exchange Base by Chinese and Portuguese Overseas Chinese Businessmen." During the meeting, Master Ni said: Art knows no borders and there are differences in culture. Perfect art will last forever, and excellent culture can be spread for a long time. Qingtian culture is rooted in stone culture and overseas Chinese culture. It has condensed the hard work, wisdom, hard work and creativity of generations of Qingtian people; protects, inherits, promotes and develops Qingtian culture, and allows Qingtian culture to go out of the country and into the world, which is the contemporary Qingtian. The responsibilities that children must bear.

Mr. Cai Wenxian delivered a keynote speech: "The representative of the overseas Chinese community in Portugal signed a strategic cooperation agreement with the Ni Dongfang Art Exchange Center today. The purpose is to promote economic cooperation through cultural bridges and explore a new joint cooperation between overseas Chinese businessmen and domestic cultural enterprises. Way."

Zhan Liang, Secretary-General of the delegation, Chairman of the Supervisory Committee of the Portuguese Chinese Chamber of Commerce, and Honorary Chairman of the Portuguese Chinese Chamber of Commerce for Overseas Chinese, said: “Today the Cultural and Art Exchange Center signed a strategic agreement with the Portuguese overseas Chinese team led by Mr. Cai in order to develop Qingtian culture and overseas culture. The precedent for in-depth cooperation, resource sharing and common development is to pave the way for the promotion of Qingtian culture and stone carving art to the world. I believe that with the strong support of Mr. Cai and the joint efforts of all overseas Chinese, Qingtian culture will definitely be able to Take root and blossom in Portugal."

90-year-old Master Ni Dongfang personally accompanied the delegation to visit the Ni Dongfang Art Museum

Qingtian Deputy County Magistrate Chen Ming introduced the collections in the museum to Mr. Cai Wenxian

The delegation had a cordial exchange with Master Ni in the conference hall

Mr. Cai Wenxian delivered a keynote speech

Zhan Liang, secretary-general of the delegation, chairman of the Portuguese Chinese Chamber of Commerce, and honorary chairman of the Portuguese Chinese Chamber of Commerce

The Portuguese Chinese Chamber of Commerce, the Portuguese Chinese Overseas Chinese Chamber of Commerce and the Ni Dongfang Art Exchange Center signed the cooperation agreement

Mr. Cai Wenxian signed for the Ni Dongfang Art Museum and praised the collection of works for "ingenious workmanship"

After the signing ceremony, Mr. Cai Wenxian wrote the inscription "The Treasure of the Country"

Master Ni Dongfang gave a four-character inscription "Auspicious Cloud" to the delegation

In this wonderful 10-day trip to China, representatives of the overseas Chinese community in grapevine built a bridge of communication with local government departments and overseas Chinese-related organizations. After each welcome forum, the most lively event is not a banquet but a WeChat account. "Let me add you" and "WeChat often contact" have become common words.

Zhu Changlong took out his mobile phone and opened the chat record with Peng Bo, deputy director of the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of Zhejiang Province, and said: "Yesterday I added Director Peng’s WeChat account. That night, I talked to him about some of our overseas Chinese businessmen in Zhejiang. He also reflected to Director Peng the problems my daughter encountered after naturalization, and he patiently answered me. "It is through this connection that the distance between overseas Chinese and the relevant departments has been greatly shortened. Ye Yiqing, chairman of the Qingtian Federation of Overseas Chinese, said: "It is a good thing for the overseas Chinese community to come back to investigate, establish contacts, and get closer. It is a two-way exchange, mutual benefit and win-win situation. Through this bridge, we can understand the situation of overseas Chinese and learn about their needs. Our work can also be practical."

"Green water and green mountains are golden and silver mountains." The changes in the environment also made the delegation feel gratified. "When I went abroad, the mountains were bare. Now you see how dense the mountains are." Zhu Changlong said. Zhan Liang sighed: "The sky is blue as fake. The blue sky and white clouds are more beautiful than paintings, not worse than Portugal."

Liu Jianyun said, "Now the development of the world is looking at China. Can you say we can’t come back and take a look? When I went abroad, Qingtian was still a poor ravine. There was nothing. There was no way to go out and develop. But now, we have many People are all running back, why? The development is too fast."

The last itinerary of the delegation was to attend the opening ceremony of the first China-Portugal route from "Hangzhou-Beijing-Lisbon" at Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport on July 25 and take the first direct flight between China and Portugal back to Portugal.

First flight unveiled

This route is operated by Capital Airlines using the Airbus dual-aisle wide-body aircraft A330-200. It is convenient and non-stop for three flights a week, which fills the gaps of direct flights between China and Portugal, and sets up the exchange of culture and personnel between China and Portugal. The bridge.

Aircraft performing its maiden flight

Among the overseas Chinese living in Portugal, the Qingtian overseas Chinese account for a large part, about 9,400. Before going back and forth to Portugal, many overseas Chinese had to transit to other countries such as Paris. However, due to the cumbersome and inconvenient procedures for transit in some countries, it basically takes more than 20 hours to go home.

Group photo of the members of the delegation and the crew

After the opening of this route, it has not only promoted the development of cooperation between China and Portugal in the political, economic and cultural fields, but also brought the most direct benefit to overseas Chinese in that the flight time was shortened, basically saving more than 10 hours. At the same time, luggage is not easy to be forgotten or lost due to transit.

The members of the delegation took a group photo with the Portuguese Ambassador to China

Liu Jianyun, President of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce in Portugal, and Portuguese Ambassador Jorge middot; Torres Pereira returned to Portugal on the same plane

The 10-day itinerary of the Portuguese overseas Chinese joint delegation was successfully concluded. Everyone was very excited and fruitful. It will have a profound impact on the economic and cultural exchanges between China and Portugal.