Overseas workers of Hubei companies gifted Chinese culture

BEIJING, Dec. 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- A report from China Daily:

In the city of Suizhou, Hubei province, a highlight of the unearthed cultural relics is a set of chime bells weighing more than 2,500 kilograms discovered in the tomb of Marquis Yi of the Zeng state, a small yet mysterious kingdom of the early Warring States Period (475-221 BC).

These bronze bells, dating back more than 2,400 years, represent the highest achievement in terms of China's bronze-casting technique, and its rituals and music culture before the Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC), experts said.

To celebrate the 10th anniversary of the inception of the Belt and Road Initiative, Hubei in Central China has developed a series of modern cultural and creative products based on this ancient instrument. They include refrigerator stickers and wind chimes.

These products have been given as gifts to overseas employees of Hubei companies that have invested in Belt and Road countries and regions.

Sambas, who is in charge of safety production at Yangtze Optical Fibre Indonesia, is one of them.

The company was created in 2015 by Yangtze Optical Fibre and Cable, which is headquartered in Wuhan, capital of Hubei. During eight years of development, it has laid more than 1,500 kilometers of optical fiber in Indonesia and provided network services to more than 700,000 locals in 25 cities.

In recent years, along with the country's increasing investment in network infrastructure, the company has built more fiber-optic cables in Indonesia, achieving a compound annual growth rate of more than 30 percent.

Its customers now include major telecommunication service providers and operators of data centers and national power grids in Indonesia.

The parent company, Yangtze Optical Fibre and Cable, has been constructing fiber-optic cables via its global factories in more than 90 countries and regions. While achieving rapid development, the company aims to provide more high-quality and inexpensive products and services to people around the world.

In Mali, West Africa, Oumar, an employee of Humanwell Pharma Afrique, received a bronze bell-shaped gift.

The company, founded by Wuhan-based Humanwell Healthcare in 2013, is the first local pharmaceutical factory in Mali. It is also the first one of its kind in West Africa featuring high-standard production and modern management.

Due to Mali's weak industrial foundations, the company had to import most of the production materials at the initial development stage.

Today, with continuously improved processing technologies of its supporting companies, the company now locally purchases sugar, drug packaging boxes, labels and other items. It said the localized procurement has helped lower drug prices and promoted the development of the logistics industry in the country.

The number of local employees in the company also accounts for more than 90 percent of the total.

Moreover, the parent company, Humanwell Healthcare has expanded its footprint overseas during the past decade under the BRI framework. Its 80-plus products have been exported to more than 70 countries and regions.

In Hanoi, capital of Vietnam, a pendant in the shape of the chime bells was given to Dinh Thu Ha, a junior manager at a waste incineration power plant of China First Metallurgical Group. 

In 2019, Dinh applied for a translator position and later became the first Vietnamese staff member of the group's first overseas waste-to-energy plant in Soc Son county in Hanoi.

As the largest refuse landfill at that time, the working environment of the plant was harsh. It was surrounded by garbage that could smelled from kilometers away, Dinh said.

The project officially began construction in August 2019. By July 2022, three sets of generator units were connected to the grid for power generation.

Covering an area of 173,936 square meters, it now processes 4,000 metric tons of urban household waste per day, accounting for about 60 percent of Hanoi's total daily production. The electricity generated by the project can meet the needs of 240,000 households in the city.

Thanks to it, the natural environment has been significantly improved in Soc Son county, evidenced by more clear waters and lush mountains. Also, the long-term goal of effectively improving urban household waste disposal in Hanoi has been achieved, Dinh said.

Following the project, a number of new waste incineration power plants have been built across the country.

Zhang Zhenzhen, Ma Wenjun, Li Yuan and Liu Jie contributed to this story.

SOURCE China Daily