STORY: Overseas guests visit millenium-old port along Maritime Silk Road in China
SHOOTING TIME: Nov. 25, 2023
DATELINE: Nov. 27, 2023
LENGTH: 00:01:57
LOCATION: WENZHOU, China
CATEGORY: CULTURE

SHOTLIST:
1. STANDUP (English): CUI LI, Xinhua correspondent
2. various of the site 
3. SOUNDBITE 1 (English): JOANNE MARIE ANDERSON, Former Mayor of Liverpool
4. various of the guests 
5. SOUNDBITE 2 (English): KWEKU MELVIN SHELDON LISK, Deputy Mayor of Freetown, Sierra Leone
6. SOUNDBITE 3 (English): ANTONIO CARLOS RODRIGUES PEREIRA JUNIOR, Director of international relations and cooperation from Duque de Caxias, Brazil

STORYLINE:

STANDUP (English): CUI LI, Xinhua correspondent
"We are at Shuomen ancient port site in Wenzhou City, east China's Zhejiang Province. The excavation of this site presents a prosperous scene of Wenzhou along the Maritime Silk Road during the Song (960-1279) and Yuan (1271-1368) Dynasties, holding an important cultural and international significance."

During the just-concluded 2023 Mayors Exchange Conference on Maritime Silk Road City Influence in Wenzhou, a group of overseas guests visited the ancient port to explore the history and discuss opportunities for cooperation among cities along the Maritime Silk Road.

SOUNDBITE 1 (English): JOANNE MARIE ANDERSON, Former Mayor of Liverpool
"Amazing, the history that's here. I have looked before common documentaries about the silk roads and this brings all to life. You got a sense, an impression of what this port was like in the past."

SOUNDBITE 2 (English): KWEKU MELVIN SHELDON LISK, Deputy Mayor of Freetown, Sierra Leone
"I've been very impressed, and I've learned a lot. This is a really good and very good exposure for me. I'm really impressed with the landscape and the care and attention that have been put into the culture and the history of the city and how it relates from thousands of years ago to the modern day. The blend between the ancient, the old and the new, I found very impressive, and it's something I think there's a lot that I could take away from here to my city."

SOUNDBITE 3 (English): ANTONIO CARLOS RODRIGUES PEREIRA JUNIOR, Director of international relations and cooperation from Duque de Caxias, Brazil
"I'm very impressed with the visit. We are very enthusiastic about the relationship with China. Our city, for example, has a lot of Chinese investments and also a Chinese public bilingual school. So I hope in the future, we can have more Chinese and Brazilians visiting each other and get to know each other better."

The archaeological site of Shuomen ancient port was discovered at the end of 2021, with ruins of ancient buildings, shipwrecks, and porcelain pieces unearthed in the following archaeological excavations.

It was listed one of China's 10 most important archaeological discoveries of 2022.

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