Feature: China's Guangxi impresses int'l guests with joyful spirit at Milan Expo

For many international guests of Expo Milano 2015 who have never visited China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Wednesday was the occasion to get some sense of the magnificent things they will experience there one day.

After attending the Guangxi Week opening ceremony at the Italian world exposition's China Pavilion, Fabrizio Grillo, Secretary General at the Italian Pavilion, even shared a dance with the young performers brought by the Guangxi delegation to Italy.

"I did enjoy the dance," Grillo told Xinhua in an interview on the sidelines of the event. "I was strongly impressed by Guangxi's presence here. They have exciting traditions, culture and costumes, but what especially hit me was their cheerfulness and joyful spirit," he went on saying.

Dong flute playing and singing of Dong ethnic group, acrobatics and local folk songs of Guangxi were among the performances presented to the Expo Milano 2015, which runs from May 1 to Oct. 31 in the Italian northern city.

"China and Italy have solid ties, and any initiatives which start from tradition and millenary history to strengthen relations are welcomed at the Expo," Grillo told Xinhua while holding in his hands an embroidered ball, an ancient handicraft of Guangxi used to express kinship and friendship.

Grillo also added he particularly appreciated two exhibitions of Guangxi's Huashan Rock Painting and Silkworm Culture at the China Pavilion. The paintings, created 2,500 years ago, boast three "mysterious features" and China has applied for World Heritage status for the ancient rock carvings in 2016.

The Silkworm Culture exhibition shows the whole process and the history of China's silkworm production. In fact Guangxi's output of silkworm cocoon accounts for over 40 percent of China's total. Guangxi is also the biggest silkworm cocoon and raw silk producer in the world.

Li Kang, vice chairman of the People's Government of Guangxi, underlined the unique geographical location which makes Guangxi one of the areas with most development potential and value of investment.

The provincial-level region is the only one in China bordering the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries both on land and sea, Li noted. The China-ASEAN Expo and the China-ASEAN Business and Investment Summit are annually held in Nanning, the capital city of Guangxi.

Another characteristic of Guangxi, Li said, is the cultural richness brought by the biggest minority population living in China. "Guangxi is the home for about 20 million minority population, taking around 37 percent of Guangxi's total population, which is approximately 54 million by latest figure," she highlighted.

"The image of China we have is very much of Beijing and Shanghai, but we know there is much more in China. Today the Guangxi Week kicked off and it is an exciting opportunity to meet new friends and to see different regions of China," Ireland Pavilion Commissioner John Kennedy told Xinhua at the China Pavilion in an interview after the Guangxi Week opening ceremony.

As the representative of an important European country at the Expo, Kennedy also highlighted the active part of Guangxi in the building of the Silk Road Economic Belt and 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, called "Belt and Road" initiatives, proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping to boost infrastructure building, financial cooperation and cultural exchanges between Asia and Europe and even Africa.

"I think the Belt and Road is a great idea, it is a grand vision to share the future together, to restore communications and trade and to build opportunities for all the communities along the route, indeed it is a great idea," he stressed.

Kennedy told Xinhua his country has "an excellent relationship" with China. "We are building our relation every year which is stronger in trade and in travel. More and more people are coming to know one another, and we believe in this acquaintance we can only get stronger," he said. Enditem