This is my first visit to Iran, but like many Chinese, I am no stranger to your ancient and beautiful country, because the Silk Road has long connected our two great peoples. The history books record one wonderful story after another.

As early as the Western Han Dynasty of China more than 2,000 years ago, the deputy envoy of the Chinese envoy Zhang Qian came to Iran and was received with great honor. During the Tang and Song dynasties in China after the 7th century, many Iranians went to China to study, practice medicine and business, and traveled to Xi'an, Guangzhou and other places. In the 13th century, the famous Iranian poet Sa'di recorded an unforgettable trip to Kashgar, Xinjiang, China. In the 15th century, Zheng He of the Ming Dynasty of China led a huge fleet of ships on seven ocean voyages, three of which reached the Hormuz region of southern Iran.

The combination of silk from China and the superb craftsmanship of Iran has achieved the nobility of the Persian silk carpet; The combination of Su Ma Liqing from Iran and the superb craftsmanship of China has made the blue and white porcelain elegant. Chinese lacquerware, pottery, papermaking, metallurgy, printing, gunpowder and other technologies spread through Iran to the westernmost tip of Asia and even further Europe, and pomegranates, grapes, olives, glass, gold and silver utensils were introduced to China from Iran and Europe.

-- Signed article published in Iranian media, "Creating a Better Tomorrow for China-Iran Relations" (January 21, 2016)

Further reading:

Like China, Iran is an ancient civilization with a history of 5,000 years. Whether it is the land Silk Road or the maritime Silk Road, ancient Iran was a must-pass place. Today, this country, which borders the Caspian Sea to the north and the Persian Gulf to the south, guards the Strait of Hormuz, the "throat" of maritime traffic in the Middle East, and is at the intersection of the "Belt and Road".

China's dealings with Iran date back to the 2nd century BC. According to the "Historical Records: The Biography of Dawan Lie", in 138 BC and 119 BC, Zhang Qian made two envoys to the Western Regions and started to connect the Silk Road. During the second mission to the Western Regions, Zhang Qian sent his deputy envoy Gan Ying and his entourage from Qiuci (now Kuqa, Xinjiang) to the countries of Anxi (now Iran) via Tiaozhi (now Iraq), and the king of Anxi received the Han envoy with the solemn ceremony of 20,000 cavalry. Since then, after the continuous development from the Eastern Han Dynasty to the Tang Dynasty, the "Silk Road" has been formed from Chang'an, the capital of the Tang Dynasty, through the Hexi Corridor, out of Yangguan in the west, through Iran and the Mediterranean coast of Europe.

The camel bells smell each other, and the boats look at each other. Along the long land and maritime Silk Road, the two civilizations of China and Iran walked hand in hand and embraced, and the two peoples met and befriended. As the Iranian poet Sa'di wrote in his poem, "A long time is worth remembering". Saadi is to Iran what Du Fu is to China, and this poet, known as "the greatest figure in Persian classical literature", has been a model of Persian literature for centuries. The exchanges between China and Iran have not only given birth to works of art such as blue and white porcelain and Persian carpets, but also enriched the poets' creations and promoted people-to-people exchanges between the two countries.

The trip to the Middle East is Xi Jinping's first foreign visit in 2016, marking the global coverage of Xi Jinping's visit since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China. As Xi Jinping said, the relations between China and Middle Eastern countries are at a new starting point of connecting the past and forging ahead into the future, and peace and cooperation, openness and inclusiveness, mutual learning and mutual benefit have become important characteristics of the development of bilateral relations. Xi Jinping told historical stories on the occasion of his visit, highlighting the atmosphere of the two great civilizations of China and Iran embracing again.

In the past, there was a historical friendship between each other, and now there is a common vision for jointly building the "Belt and Road". If China and Iran have made important contributions to the construction of the Silk Road and the promotion of exchanges between Eastern and Western civilizations in history, then the friendly exchanges between the two countries over the past 40 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations are the inheritance and interpretation of the spirit of the Silk Road. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said that President Xi Jinping is the first foreign head of state to visit Iran after the settlement of the Iranian nuclear issue, reflecting the level of positive and friendly relations between Iran and China. In his speech, Xi Jinping used pomegranates from Iran to settle in China