A delegation of media agency representatives from countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative kicked off a five-day tour of Harbin, capital city of Northeast China’s Heilongjiang province, on Aug 4.

Journalists will visit some of the city's industrial parks and economic zones -- including Harbin New Zone, Harbin Economic Development Zone, Xiangfang and the Daoli districts -- in an attempt to learn about the economic and social development and changes of the city.

China’s northernmost provincial capital city in China, with architectural and historical links with nearby Russia, Harbin possesses an undeniably exotic air that combines the history and the eastern and western cultures of China’s northern ethnic groups. It has helped Harbin earn it the nicknames the “Eastern Moscow” and “Eastern Paris”.

Harbin was also voted as one of the top five summer resorts and top three winter tourist cities in China due to its cool weather in the summer and biting cold in the winter.

In recent years, Harbin has ridden an economic boom based on its rich tourism resources and solid industrial foundations. Big changes have happened to the city involving its people’s livelihoods, as well as its urban and economic construction.

Sponsored by the office of the cyberspace affairs commission of Harbin and organized by the Heilongjiang branch of CRI Online, the event invited more than 40 journalists from Egypt, Romania, Somalia, Indonesia and Nigeria.

Organizers said the activity aims to offer foreign media agencies a platform to get closer to Harbin's tourism and culture and latest achievements, promoting the city’s image abroad.

The opening ceremony for a foreign media trip to Harbin is held in Harbin, in Northeast China’s Heilongjiang province, on Aug 4. [Photo/chinanews.com]

Mohamed Ali Salim Yassell, director of the AroCam Media Company from Sudan, delivers a speech at the opening ceremony of the foreign media trip on Aug 4. [Photo/chinanews.com]

Journalists pose for a photo while strolling along Harbin Central Avenue on Aug 4. [Photo/MY399.COM]