Colorful Guizhou through the eyes of foreign poets

The 38th World Congress of Poets attracted more than a hundred poets from over 30 countries to Suiyang county, Zunyi city of Guizhou province. The congress took poetry as a media to promote the deep integration of culture and tourism.

Haim Dotan, a famous poet and architect from Israel, gives a speech at the 38th World Congress of Poets in Suiyang county, Zunyi city, Guizhou province. [Photo/www.todayguizhou.com]

Haim Dotan, a famous poet from Israel, expressed his appreciation of Guizhou.

"Guizhou is a beautiful and romantic place with fresh air, clean water and lush mountains. It is also a place of culture with unique music and poetry passed on by various ethnic groups from generation to generation," he said.

He was deeply impressed by Guizhou's eco-tourism, green economy and energy conservation when he came to Guiyang to attend the 2016 Eco Forum Global Annual Conference. After revisiting Guizhou, he was surprised to find how the province had achieved rapid economic development while maintaining the green ecological environment.

"The development of Guizhou is shocking and everything is changing," He said with regards to how these changes have helped Guizhou residents escape poverty and live better lives. "I will put Guizhou’s scenery and economic life into poetry," he said.

Gao Guanzhong, a Chinese-German writer who specializes in travel literature, gives a speech at the 38th World Congress of Poets in Suiyang county, Zunyi city, Guizhou province. [Photo/www.todayguizhou.com]

Gao Guanzhong, a Chinese-German writer who specializes in travel literature, has a special feeing and unique opinion of Guizhou, saying "Guizhou plays an important role in China’s history, especially its modern development. Its annual average growth rate of GDP has increased to 10 percent in the past five years.”

He also said that rapid development of industries including agriculture, culture and big data was helping the province get rid of poverty. "Guiyang Longdongbao Airport receives 18 million passengers a year, which is 1.5 times that of Hamburg Airport in Germany. It only takes eight hours to Beijing, 2,000 kilometers away from Guiyang, by high-speed rail."

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Kae Morii, a poet from Japan, said that Guizhou was the place she had always dreamed of. She was amazed by its beauty and touched by the poetry in Guizhou. She was also impressed by the "red culture" of Zunyi, a historical city due to the Red Army holding its famous Zunyi Meeting there in 1935 during the Long March.

French poet George Friedan Kraft experiences "red culture" in Zunyi city of Guizhou province. [Photo/www.todayguizhou.com]

"Now China is developing rapidly and so is Guizhou. The province is quite different because of its beautiful landscapes and rich ethnic culture," said George Friedan Kraft, a poet from France. He once visited the province 50 years ago, falling in love with the stunning waterfalls and magical karst caves. Guizhou has brought him a lot of inspiration and he plans to write a poem about his journey.

Zhao Yandi contributed to this story.