The 2026 China Storyteller Partnerships drew the curtain on Tuesday with a roundtable sharing session that featured 15 international guests who embarked on a fun-filled journey in Guizhou. Among them were media professionals and content creators from France, Malaysia, Pakistan, Russia, South Korea, Thailand, the United Kingdom, the United States, Ukraine, and Vietnam.
Elliot McGowen from the US, an editor at China Daily, opened the session with an exquisite summary of Guizhou's three shades of green: nature, Tongren matcha, and a green light. He found that the Wujiang River, as an ecosystem that is beautiful yet fragile, was "undisturbed by human progress". He was also impressed by the quality and diversity of matcha products, noting that "we can have matcha whenever and however we want". More importantly, while these years have witnessed a staggering growth in this industry, he can still find ancient matcha rituals being practiced here. In Guizhou, McGowen felt the ardent hospitality was all around, and used the metaphor of green light to communicate that Guizhou is ready to be a world-class tourist destination.
Karyna Kovalevska, a Ukrainian content creator who has travelled extensively across China, is no stranger to Guizhou. Having visited 26 provinces and 88 cities, she said Guizhou remains one of the places she feels most attached to. Her first trip to the province in 2023 was to witness the viral cunchao, the grassroots Village Super League football tournament, where she was touched by the enthusiasm of local people who greeted her, offered drinks, and invited her to share food.
Kovalevska later spent six months living in Xishui county, Guizhou, documenting everyday life through videos, with many of her posts garnering responses from audiences at home and abroad. Returning this time to Tongren and Guiyang city, she said the experience felt both comforting and exciting. From playing basketball inside a cave and climbing the dramatic peaks of Fanjing Mountain, to tasting locally produced matcha and cruising through the scenic Wujiang Gallery, she said the journey was "like travelling through a painting". For Kovalevska, Guizhou is not only rich in mountains and rivers, but also filled with everyday warmth and a sense of belonging.
Mylène Mathieu from France reflected on how the trip reshaped her understanding of China. Before arriving, she said, many foreign visitors only knew Guizhou as a beautiful, but distant destination. However, the few days she spent in the province revealed something deeper: a place where culture, daily life, and nature intertwine. She recalled the welcoming bonfire party in Yunshui Village, where music and dancing created a rare sense of closeness among strangers, and her climb up Fanjing Mountain, which inspired a quiet reverence for nature. The visit to a matcha production company also impressed her, as the meticulous craftsmanship reminded her of traditional artisan culture in France. For Mathieu, what international audiences truly seek today is not only beautiful scenery, but the feeling of life itself, which Guizhou has in spades.
