In the recently-concluded media workshop for the Belt and Road News Network (BRNN), 39 editors and journalists from 19 countries went to Suzhou in east China’s Jiangsu Province to learn about China’s silk industry.

Zhenze is a town with more than 1,000 years of history and was one of the four best-known producers of silk in China. In the Taihuxue Silkworm & Mulberry Cultural Park, participants experienced the process of silk reeling and silk quilt making.

“It’s a wonderful experience,” said Nina Nichiporova, first deputy editor-in-chief of newspaper Vecherniy Bishkek.

Silk has been globally recognized as a beautiful and precious textile since ancient times, she added. In the past, Eurasia was connected by the silk trade, which greatly enhanced exchanges of those living along the route.

Mulberry grows well in the Caucasus, where there is also a tradition of producing silk, noted Aziz Mamedov, chief correspondent of Azerbaijan State News Agency.

In a panel discussion with local government and silk enterprises, Mamedov invited Suzhou’s business representatives to Azerbaijan in the hope of boosting the development of the silk industry in his country.

“It seems that I am in the 22nd century,” Gayane Arakelyan, deputy director-general & editor-in-chief of Noyan Tapan Media Holding, told People’s Daily, after seeing the high tech products made by seaweed fiber. Besides silk, the ancient Shengze town is also a base for lightweight fabric production.

The second media workshop for the BRNN, which started on Oct. 21, concluded on Nov. 2 in Beijing. 43 senior editors and journalists from 41 major media outlets of 20 countries in the Eurasian region, West Asia and North Africa, attended the graduation ceremony.

Apart from Jiangsu, the group also visited Gansu, Sichuan and Shandong provinces to experience the achievements of development during their two-week stay in China.