STORY: Xi inspects historic and cultural block in Suzhou in E China
DATELINE: July 7, 2023
LENGTH: 00:01:17
LOCATION: SUZHOU, China
CATEGORY: CULTURE

SHOTLIST:
1. various of Suzhou
2. photos of Xi visiting a historic and cultural block of Pingjiang Road
3. SOUNDBITE 1 (Chinese): ZHANG YINGYING, Director of Niujiaxiang Community, Pingjiang Street, Gusu District, Suzhou City
4. SOUNDBITE 2 (Chinese): WU JIAWEN, Suzhou Pingtan performer
5. various of Pingtan performance
6. SOUNDBITE 3 (Chinese): LU JIANYING, Inheritor of Suzhou embroidery
7. various of embroidery artworks

STORYLINE:

Chinese President Xi Jinping visited a historic and cultural block of Pingjiang Road in Suzhou, east China's Jiangsu Province, on Thursday.

Pingjiang Road, located in the northeast of Suzhou, gathers a variety of historic relics and cultural sites. It is the most typical and complete historical and cultural protection area in Suzhou.

SOUNDBITE 1 (Chinese): ZHANG YINGYING, Director of Niujiaxiang Community, Pingjiang Street, Gusu District, Suzhou City
"President Xi came to our Pingjiang Road today to watch our Pingtan (storytelling and ballad singing in Suzhou dialect) performance and appreciate the Suzhou embroidery artworks along the road.
He encouraged us to make persistent efforts and continue to work hard to pass on the local traditional culture."

SOUNDBITE 2 (Chinese): WU JIAWEN, Suzhou Pingtan performer
"After listening to my singing of 'Beautiful Suzhou,' President Xi asked me where we usually perform Pingtan.
I told him we perform in the neighborhoods, featured streets, scenic spots and schools."

SOUNDBITE 3 (Chinese): LU JIANYING, Inheritor of Suzhou embroidery
"I will continue to produce embroidery artworks and explore Suzhou embroidery skills with more depth, so as to better pass them on to the future generations."

Xi inspected the city of Suzhou from Wednesday afternoon to Thursday morning.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Suzhou, China.
(XHTV)