Feature: Hubei Day unveils China's regional prominence at Milan Expo

The Hubei Day that kicked off at the China Pavilion of the Milan world exposition on Tuesday was an occasion for international visitors to make acquaintance with the central Chinese province for the first time.

"Today it is a good opportunity for us to discover the culture of other provinces of China which are less known compared to more globalized metropolis like Shanghai and Beijing," an Italian volunteer, Giusy Chiricchiello, told Xinhua while attending the Hubei Day opening ceremony at the China Pavilion's gate stage.

"I especially like the Taiji performance, it is wonderful," added Chiricchiello, who has studied Chinese language for four years, watching the Taiji masters from Wudang Mountain who imparted skills at the scene.

Hubei also presented its food and Hubei Changshengchuan tea, which was awarded the gold prize at the Panama-Pacific International Exposition 1915, to international guests, with chefs showing their skills in the central China province's cuisines.

At the entrance of China Pavilion, a statue of Shennong, the originator of Chinese agriculture, made its debut, while several works were exhibited as the representatives of Hubei intangible cultural heritage.

"I had never heard about Hubei province before. In fact I know very little about China, but my sons rushed here to make some photos," an Italian visitor, Marco Aprile, told Xinhua. "Really China is the most lively pavilion at 10:00 in the morning here at Expo, it is impossible not to be attracted," he added.

Alena Vauraniuk, a member of the Brest region delegation from Belarus, was eager to meet the "very active and polite" Hubei counterparts. "The Brest region of Belarus has a partnership with Hubei province," she told Xinhua.

Business meetings between Belarus and Italian representatives and the Hubei delegation were scheduled to take place on Wednesday.

"Hubei is an important industrial and agricultural province of China, a modern production center for automobiles, information technology, food processing and other sectors," Hubei Executive Vice Governor Wang Xiaodong said while introducing the province.

He stressed Hubei not only has old traditions but also has the elements of modern culture to boost all aspects of development. For example, Hubei is a cultural center renowned for the quality of its school system, Wang said. In Wuhan, he noted, there are as many as 1.2 million students, which is something unique in the world.

Prospectives of collaboration between Hubei and Italy's Lombardy region, of which Milan is the capital city, are "extremely interesting," Fabrizio Sala, Lombardy's Regional Councillor for Expo, told Xinhua in an interview on the sidelines of Tuesday's event.

"Lombardy certainly has a smaller population and surface compared to Hubei, but has a very high per-capita income and important excellencies," he said. For example, Sala underlined, Lombardy is the first agricultural region in Italy, has the most developed health sector and boasts strong culture and tourism industries.

Collaboration and exchanges with Hubei are very welcomed and important, he stressed. "During these two days we will be studying a memorandum of understanding that will be signed in the near future, and will be a concrete one," he told Xinhua.

"I have already been to Shanghai and should go there again next year. During the six-month Expo we are developing important relations with Chinese counterparts that will have to be implemented after the Expo, and this will be our world exposition's main legacy," he concluded. Enditem