STORY: Xi Jinping visits ancient Shudao in China's Sichuan
DATELINE: July 28, 2023
LENGTH: 00:02:31
LOCATION: CHENGDU, China
CATEGORY: POLITICS
 
STORYLINE:
 
SOUNDBITE 1 (Chinese): YANG ZUBIN, Party chief of Jian'ge County, Guangyuan City, Sichuan
"As President Xi got on the van and was about to leave, he again asked for the county's Party chief. When I went up to him, he told me that Jian'ge County is a great place, and we must promote the excellent Chinese culture well."
 
The ancient "Shudao," or roads of the Shu Kingdom, spans over 1,000 km.
 
The road system is made up of numerous wooden planks supported by beams firmly anchored into cliffs.
 
With a history of more than two millennia, Shudao connects present-day Sichuan Province in the southwest with the northern Guanzhong Plain, once the heartland of ancient China.
 
On July 25, Chinese President Xi Jinping inspected the Cuiyunlang section of Shudao in Jian'ge County of Guangyuan City, Sichuan Province.
 
The ancient cypress trees along this section boast an average age of 1,050 years, with the oldest tree dating back approximately 2,300 years.
 
SOUNDBITE 2 (Chinese): CAI DONGZHOU, Professor, School of History and Culture, China West Normal University
"President Xi first came to these maps of the Shudao, and he looked at them very carefully. We told him that this route is called the Jinniu Road, or the Shiniu Road, with a total length of more than 600 km; the area we are in is highlighted in red. This section is centered on the ancient city of Jianzhou, with a length of 151 km. President Xi looked at the picture for quite a long time."
 
SOUNDBITE 3 (Chinese): LUO LIN, Researcher, Guangyuan Grottoes Research Institute
"President Xi walked into the core area of the Cuiyunlang section and asked about each of the ancient cypress trees.
He asked in detail about the world's only 'Jian'ge Cypress,' which stands straight and upright, with its branches seemingly reaching into the clouds. This cypress holds three records in the Cuiyunlang section of the Shudao: it's the highest, the oldest, the most peculiar among all trees here. It's 27 meters high and has lived for 2,300 years. From a distance, it looks like a pine tree, but up close, it is a cypress. Of course, the most peculiar about it is its fruits. Because it was first discovered in Jian'ge, it was named 'Jian'ge Cypress.'"
 
SOUNDBITE 4 (Chinese): YANG ZUBIN, Party chief of Jian'ge County, Guangyuan City, Sichuan
"What President Xi cares about is how we can better protect the ancient cypress trees in the Cuiyunlang section of the Shudao, and develop and utilize them properly and responsibly.
We will bear in mind President Xi's words, adhere to and implement the thought on ecological civilization, better protect the precious resources left to us by our ancestors, and develop and utilize them properly and responsibly. At the same time, we should also promote the excellent Chinese culture well."
 
Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Chengdu, China.
(XHTV)