South African government officials visit Beitang village in Qingjiang town. [Photo/tmuyun.com]
South African government officials studying at the Wenzhou Vocational & Technical College on March 5 visited Yueqing – a county-level city administered by Wenzhou in East China's Zhejiang province – on a fact-finding mission to understand the Yueqing's urban and rural development.
At Beitang village in Qingjiang town, the seven-member delegation toured the local market, sampled eco-friendly fruit drinks and tasted the signature Sanxian noodles.
The visitors learned about Beitang's rural vitalization, which has transformed the once disorderly village into a scenic agricultural hub with year-round blooming flowers and flourishing fruit harvests.
Inspired by the experience, student Pule, who is a videographer, said he planned to document Beitang's successful agricultural model to share back home.
The group also visited Qinghe Park, a provincial-level wetland park designed for flood controls, recreation and urban integration.
They admired its tulip fields and Qinghe Study, a classical Chinese-style building. "This architecture is stunning; it's the element I'd most love to bring back to South Africa," said student Dineo.
According to Zhao Zhi, a faculty member at the college and a planner for Beitang's development, Yueqing's urban-rural planning focuses on integrated land use, optimized industrial spaces and aesthetic rural landscapes.
He expressed the hope that such exchanges would deepen cultural understanding and foster stronger China-Africa ties through shared learning experiences.
