GUIDANCE, GAIETY, AND GREENERY IN GUANGXI

Greatly esteemed to be part of a very select group of Overseas Chinese leaders worldwide invited by the Government of the People's Republic of China (中華人民共和國) to participate in a week-long, all-expense paid "Overseas Chinese Community Leadership Workshop" (廣西華僑華人社團負責人研習班) in the fascinating province of Guangxi, China (廣西壯族自治區). Together with Chairman Peter Mangasing, yours truly represented the Association of Young Filipino-Chinese Entrepreneurs (Anvil Business Club), an organization now regarded with such high prominence by the Chinese Government, as a result of its phenomenal advancement and relevance to the Overseas Chinese community-at-large over the recent years.
The workshop and cultural tour spanned six days, three cities and one county: Nanning (南寧), Liuzhou (柳州), Sanjiang (三江), and Guilin (桂林). Thirty-three Overseas Chinese participants – coming from four corners of the globe and representing a wide array of professions – took part in this very limited opportunity to coalesce, explore, and collectively engage in a series of activities with the aim of promoting global amity, enhancing leadership skills, and developing a greater appreciation of our ethnic roots, while experiencing the legendary appeal of Guangxi.
In Nanning's Yong Jiang Hotel (南寧市邕江賓館), a series of engaging lectures were conducted by world-renowned professors from the famed Guangxi Institute for Nationalities (廣西民族大學) during the first two days of our workshop. After being personally welcomed by Guangxi's Deputy Director for Investment Promotion Agency, the Honorable Zheng Juan (鄭捐) and Guangxi Chamber of Commerce President, Ms. Linda Wang (王琳達), the delegation attended a succession of discourses on:
1. "Introduction and Analysis of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Agreement and What it Means to Guangxi" (中國-東盟自貿區升級版與廣西實施更加開放戰略的思考) by Professor Gao (高歌教授). The Chinese Government deems Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) as a new platform to further opening up to the outside and speeding up domestic reforms, an effective approach to integrate into global economy and strengthen economic cooperation with other economies, as well as particularly an important supplement to the multilateral trading system.
2. "The New Engine and, New Business Opportunities in Boosting Economic Development in Guangxi" (新引擎，新商機， 助力廣西經濟發展（楊真祝易聚大學籌備委員會主任) by Director Yang Zhen Zhu Yi (杨真祝 易) of the Guangxi Polytechnic University (聚大学筹备委员会主任). Guangxi is located in the coastal border; thus, it is an important gateway to the Silk Road, not only referring to the 21st century maritime economic zone, but to the Overseas Chinese. Guangxi and ASEAN countries already have land and seas adjacent to each other, not to mention having unique advantages in the use of new technologies, which manifest an important historical and palpable significance.
3. "One Belt, One Road: Vision and Opportunities" (一带一路的愿景和机遇) by Dr. Hu Chao (胡超博士). The "One Belt, One Road" concept is a 21st century "Maritime Silk Road" theory that envisions reviving the ancient network of trade and cultural transmission routes that were central to cultural interaction through regions of the Asian continent connecting the West and East, particularly in key districts of China, Asia as well as North Africa and Europe. It discusses how this theory could prove to be beneficial to Guangxi Province's economic initiatives.
4. "Chinese Diplomatic Strategy and Cross-Strait Relations" (中國外交戰略與兩岸關係) by Dr. Chen Bingxian (陳丙先博士). This session extensively discussed China-Taiwan relations since 1949, and explored ways and means to seek proper settlement of the Taiwan issue, in the light of ever-changing domestic and international conditions.
Apart from these four official sessions, a special seminar on "Chinese Health and Prevention of Common Diseases" (中醫養生與常見疾病的防治) was conducted in the evening by nationally-renowned traditional Chinese specialist Dr. Pang Sheng Hang (龐 聲 航). In a two-hour presentation, Dr. Pang discussed the Chinese approach to health concept and enumerated the Chinese health concept; gave tips in boiling and dosage; shared ways to prevent and treat hypertension; and dispensed advice for the prevention and treatment of diabetes.
In-between these seminars, a leadership team building workshop for the delegates was conducted and supervised by the members of the People's Liberation Army stationed in Nanning. The last evening in Nanning was a trip to the Genting Tower (云顶观光), a 276-meter tourist spot where visitors can enjoy a 360-degree view Nanning City spanning 400 square meters.
The third and fourth days were devoted to on-site educational tours in the City of Liuzhou (柳州市). The delegation first visited the Luizhou Urban Planning Exhibition Center (柳州城市規劃展覽館), which displays Liuzhou City's urban planning and development. The focus of the exhibit is an impressive large scale model of the entirety of urban Liuzhou, showing existing buildings and approved future buildings. Other exhibits relate to Liuzhou's history and planned development, including smaller scaled models focusing on particular areas of interest.
Another fascinating area was the Liuzhou Fantastic Stone Museum (柳州奇石館). As the City of Liuzhou considers itself to be the stone capital of China, the museum located – in the heart of the city – indeed symbolizes it being a major center for stone culture. Constructed in 1994, the 12,500 square foot ultra-modern museum houses a collection of more than ten thousand uniquely-shaped stones, making it one of the largest stone museums in China.
The group also visited two the biggest industrial centers in Liuzhou: the 2-square kilometer central SGMW automobile plant and the Guangxi Liugong Machinery (柳工簡介). SGMW is currently recognized as the most influential, self-developed auto brand in China by the national auto industry. Established in 2002, the company is a three-way joint venture from two China-based companies, SAIC Motor Corporation Ltd. (上海汽車集團股份有限公司) and Liuzhou Wuling Motors Co., Ltd. (柳州五菱汽車公司), with General Motors China (通用汽車公司) as its foreign partner. Under this joint partnership, they produced the Wuling (五菱汽車) and Baojun (寶駿汽車) brands of passenger vehicles, which enjoys the top selling brands in the domestic car sales in China.
Liugong, on the other hand, was founded in 1958 and ranks as the 20th largest construction equipment manufacturer in the world, capturing nearly 12.4% of the global market share in wheel loaders and nearly 18.4% share domestically.
Our trip to Liuzhou, however, was not entirely business-related; after our plant visits, we headed to the famed Dragon Pool Park (大龍潭湖) – a three-kilometer ride from the downtown – for lunch and to experience Liuzhou ethnic minority's culture and local customs via a cultural show while enjoying their local Zhuang cuisine. Within the center of the park likes Mirror Lake (鏡湖) covering 0.2 square kilometers, which houses a number of scenic spots, such as the Eight Dragons Spurting Snow (八龍噴雪壩), Long Mountain (龍山), Bei Qiu Relics (貝丘遺址), Dai Village (傣寨), and Sleeping Tiger Mountain (臥虎山).
Day Five consisted of a rainy, five-hour bus ride to the Sanjiang Dong Autonomous County (三江侗族自治縣) to visit the rustic Chengyang Eight Village (程陽八寨景區), where the historic Chengyang Yong Ji Bridge (程陽永濟橋) is located. The century-old wooden pontoon, built in 1912, spans the entire 64.4 meter-wide River Lin. Reputed to be one of the world's most famous bridges, it's amazing that the bridge was built without a single nail riveting and used straight-set cabling, arranged in a crisscross pattern, and is still able to withstand nature's forces over a hundred years.
That evening, the entire delegation was treated to a spectacular cultural show entitled, "Love Story of Dongs" (坐妹三江), the first large-scale folk-custom live symphonic play that cost 70 million yuan (USD11.3 million), which features a love story among the Dong people, Sanjiang's biggest ethnic minority. Performed by multi-choral traditional culture with modern perfection and led with the aid of the most advanced technology, the play was able to perfectly express the Dong's customs.
On Day Six, the final but climactic leg of the week-long tour was to Guilin (桂林), considered to be the pearl of China's thriving tourist industry on account of the natural beauty and historic treasures. The stunning landscape in which the city is situated has a kind of magic that is all its own. The strangely shaped hills or "karsts," with the verdant vegetation ranging from bamboos to conifers together with crystal clear waters and wonderful caves make the city such an appealing destination. It is also an important cultural city with a history of more than 2,000 years. The city has been the political, economic and cultural center of Guangxi since the Northern Song Dynasty (宋王朝) from 960-1127 A.D. The organizers must have saved the best for last, as Guilin truly encapsulates the very essence of Eastern beauty: mystically faint hills and misty rivers almost forgotten but salvaged by the lonesome villager on his bamboo raft. For decades, children's textbooks proclaimed 'Guìlín's landscape is the best under heaven' (桂林山水甲天下), and rightfully so. Today Guìlín's natural endowments still amaze, yet, thanks to imperfect urban planning, there is a pervasive feeling that the city is past its prime.
The final evening in China was marked with a world-renowned theater presentation called 'Impression of Liu Sanjie' (“印象劉三姐”) – an outdoor night show beside the Li River (漓江) in Yangshuo County (陽朔縣) which is 60km from Guilin. Different from other shows in an enclosed space, the show is staged in the actual Li River which stretches 2 km (1.25 miles). The mist, moonlight, together with 12 Karsts peaks and their inverted reflections in the river all creates a spectacular natural backdrop. The large-scale lighting, special smoke-effects and the state-of-the-art sound system, orchestrated in harmony with the natural landscape, presents a visual feast to the audiences. The show lasted approximately 70 minutes and consists of 7 episodes: the Prelude, Red Impression, Green Impression, Golden Impression, Blue Impression, Silvery Impression and the Epilogue. Each episode displays different images and scenery with the ever-changing natural background and lighting. As of last count, there were 600 actors and actresses involved, most of them fishermen from the villages along the river. Zhang Yimou (張藝謀), the chief director of the performance, who is also the chief director of the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics in 2008, creatively combines the classical Liu Sanjie’s folk songs and ethnic group culture together and presents a large-scale realistic performance in harmony with landscape.
As we bade each other goodbye from our six-day sojourn in this beautiful mountainous terrain on the far south of China, we not only take with us many wonderful memories and extraordinary learning from our stay, but also leave a comforting thought that we have forged new friendships from fellow Overseas Chinese brothers and sisters in different parts of the world.