NANJING: Envoys from 28 countries and international organizations, including Ireland, Saudi Arabia, Japan and the African Union, visited east China's Jiangsu Province at the invitation of China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs from Monday to Thursday.

During their visit to the provincial capital of Nanjing and the city of Suzhou, the diplomats toured historical sites and visited high-tech enterprises, experiencing the robust vitality of China's high-quality development.

Gassim A G Gishlan, minister of the Embassy of Saudi Arabia in China, marveled at the beauty of China's classical gardens.

"Pavilions, mansions, bridges and waters are dotted everywhere in the Humble Administrator's Garden," Gishlan said, adding that Chinese-style gardens not only present the architectural skills of ancient China, but also reflect Chinese people's theory that man is an integral part of nature.

Designed by architect I.M. Pei, the Suzhou Museum made the diplomats admire the ingenuity of the architectural style as well as the harmony of tradition and modernity in design.

"Suzhou did a great job in preserving traditional culture; it is very important because we need to let the younger generations know clearly where they came from," said Barrett Salato, ambassador of the Solomon Islands to China.

At the Nanjing Yunjin Museum, the delegation was amazed by a demonstration of the operation of the wooden loom.

This 1,600-year-old silk craft, Yunjin, also known as Yun brocade, with its colorful and exquisite patterns, was inscribed on the Unesco Intangible Cultural Heritage List in 2009.

"It is part of living cultural heritage; it not only belongs to the past, but also belongs to people in their daily lives," said Vahe Gevorgyan, ambassador of Armenia to China.

He noted that Armenia also boasts of abundant cultural heritages and looks forward to more cultural exchanges with China in the future.

In the 1990s, the China-Singapore Suzhou Industrial Park (SIP), an important cooperation project between the Chinese and Singaporean governments, was established in Suzhou.

During the visit, the envoys came to the Suzhou Industrial Park Exhibition Center to learn about its development process.

"We just visited SIP, which has grown from a paddy field to high-tech environment in a very short time and it is something beyond my expectation," said Pick Fung Ho-Chong, the ambassador of Suriname to China.

"There are many Irish enterprises that have partners here, some of them have suppliers, and some of them have distributors. We hope those business relationships will continue to grow and flourish," said Ann Derwin, Ireland's ambassador to China.

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