China's Amazing Decade: My Story holds award ceremony

The awards ceremony for "China's Amazing Decade: My Story", a story-telling contest open to non-Chinese people to share their stories about China from over the past 10 years, was held on Thursday in Beijing. A total of 60 pieces of works received awards, including 5 first prizes.

From the middle of August to Oct 15, a total of 469 works in three categories of articles, photos and videos were submitted, covering areas such as the economy, culture, education, environmental protection, health, medicine, film and television and more.

The event was jointly organized by China Daily and the Bank of China.

Liu Weiling, deputy editor-in-chief of China Daily, said the event showcases the great changes in the new era over the past decade and the achievements of Chinese modernization, and presents a reliable, admirable and respectable image of China.

Zhang Xiaodong, member of the CPC Bank of China Committee, said: "The authors are witnesses and recorders of China's development in the new era, and quite a few of them are also participants of the development in the past decade."

When they bring the vivid stories and experiences in China back to their home countries, it will benefit people of both countries and promote cultural exchanges among them, he said.

Chang Cai, an Australian visiting scholar from Nanjing Agricultural University who received the second prize of the contest, shared her story of participating in a veterinary epidemiology training project in China, in which tens of thousands of veterinary officers and academics from more than 30 universities around China received training.

She said many things have happened to her and also China in the past ten years, and she looks forward to experiencing China's next decade.

The ceremony also saw the launch of a book — "My China Story: China in the Eyes of Foreign Youth" — compiled by 27 essays in both English and Chinese from the last contest in 2021, which were written by authors from 18 countries.

Li Hongwen, executive director of China National Publications Import & Export (Group) Co Ltd, said these articles focus on hot topics such as China's green development, poverty reduction, COVID-19 epidemic prevention and the Belt and Road Initiative, presenting the authors' thoughts and views from different perspectives.