STORY: Greek youth explores stories of Dazu Rock Carvings in China's Chongqing
SHOOTING TIME: Aug. 16, 2024
DATELINE: Aug. 19, 2024
LENGTH: 00:01:58
LOCATION: CHONGQING, China
CATEGORY: CULTURE

SHOTLIST:
1. various of Georgios Botis and the Dazu Rock Carvings
2. SOUNDBITE 1 (English): GEORGIOS BOTIS, PhD student at National Technical University of Athens
3. various of Georgios Botis and the Dazu Rock Carvings
4. SOUNDBITE 2 (English): GEORGIOS BOTIS, PhD student at National Technical University of Athens

STORYLINE:

Georgios Botis, a PhD student from Greece, shared his personal reflections on cultural communication while exploring the stories of the Dazu Rock Carvings in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality.

Botis arrived in Beijing in early August for the 2024 World Youth Development Forum.

The Dazu Rock Carvings site was inscribed onto the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1999.

SOUNDBITE 1 (English): GEORGIOS BOTIS, PhD student at National Technical University of Athens
"In my country, we also have so many Greek ancient monuments well preserved. And I'm actually very interested in getting to know what the actual differences between the Dazu Rock Carvings and our ancient Greek monuments should look like.
So, we are here at Baoding Mountain, famous for its Buddhist statues.
So, here we can actually observe the Buddha. While entering this building, we can actually see the Guanyin (Bodhisattva) with some 1,000 hands. And now we are heading to the Three Saints of Hua-yen."

Botis called on young people who visit China to deeply explore the country's cultural heritage and actively engage in cultural exchange. He said that this can help bridge gaps between nations and set the stage for effective communication and mutual understanding.

SOUNDBITE 2 (English): GEORGIOS BOTIS, PhD student at National Technical University of Athens
"And I think that this is essential for young people to get to understand the nation and cultural heritage of China. Also, I think that every young person who gets to visit this different country has to undergo this procedure, and this cultural enrichment can actually bridge the nations and gaps by getting to actually know each other and build some very good, solid foundations upon communication."

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