Global Promotion of Shaanxi in Ministry of Foreign Affairs

　　胡和平

　　Hu Heping

　　2016年7月5日

　　July 5, 2016

　　尊敬的王毅部长、各位驻华使节，

　　Honorable Foreign Minister Mr. Wang Yi,

　　Foreign diplomats in China,

　　女士们、先生们：

　　Ladies and gentlemen,

　　大家上午好!

　　Good morning!

　　非常感谢外交部为陕西提供了这样一个高规格的展示平台，也非常感谢各位嘉宾出席今天的推介活动。

　　I’m very grateful to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for offering us such a high-profile platform to present our province. And I also would like to thank all the guests for attending this event.

　　刚才，通过宣传片和王毅部长、勤俭书记的简要介绍，相信大家已经对陕西有了初步的印象。“陕西”的汉语拼音“Shaanxi”，包含了七个字母，每一个都有独特的含义，代表了陕西不同的特点。下面，我就逐一解读这七个字母，为大家进一步介绍陕西。

　　After the video and the brief introduction given by Minister Wang Yi and party secretary Lou Qinjian, I believe you have already had an initial impression of Shaanxi. The pinyin of “Shaanxi” includes seven letters. Each of them has a distinctive meaning standing for a different feature of Shaanxi. Now, I would like to further present Shaanxi to you by decoding these seven letters one by one.

　　S代表Spectacular，展现了陕西秀丽壮美的自然景观。陕西地处中国地理版图的几何中心，面积20.56万平方公里，纵跨长江、黄河两大流域和中温、暖温、亚热三个气候带，自然形成了陕北、关中、陕南三大区域，横亘于中部、绵延1600多公里的秦岭是中国南北方的分界线。

　　S stands for “Spectacular”, which describes how beautiful and magnificent the natural landscape of Shaanxi is. Shaanxi is located in the geometric center of China. It covers an area of 205,600 square kilometers, stretching across the Yangtze River and the Yellow River and three climatic zones of middle temperate zone, warm temperate zone and subtropical zone. Accordingly, three regions naturally formed, the Northern Shaanxi, Central Shaanxi and Southern Shaanxi. The Qinling Mountains, lying across the central region of Shaanxi, stretching for over 1,600 kilometers, are the boundary of Southern and Northern China.

　　特殊的地理环境，造就了陕西集江南水乡与大漠风光于一体、多姿多彩的奇幻景象。陕北的红石峡红岩对峙、景色旖旎;红碱淖晶莹清澈、如沙海明珠;壶口瀑布夏天波涛翻滚、冬日冰满长河，磅礴气势蔚为壮观。关中的华山是中国五大名山之一，终年云蒸雾罩，自古便以险峻著称;秦岭主峰太白山高寒奇秀，至今仍存有第四纪冰川遗迹;关山牧场郁郁葱葱，林草山溪相得益彰。陕南地处秦巴山地，湖光山色相映成辉，峡谷溶洞遍布其间，别有一番灵秀的韵味。

　　With the exceptional geographical conditions, you can find in Shaanxi both the water towns typical of southern China and the desert typical of Northern China. In Northern Shaanxi, you can see red rocks stand against one another in the Red Rock Canyon; The sparkling and crystal-clear Hongjiannao Lake is just like a bright pearl in the sand; You can see Hukou Waterfalls pouring down from the cliff in summer and frozen and full of ice in winter. Known for its precipitous cliffs and surrounded by clouds and fog all year long, the Huashan Mountain in Central Shaanxi is one of the Top Five Mountains of China. In Taibai Mountain, the highest peak of Qinling Mountains, glacier remnants of the Quaternary period can still be found. In Guanshan Ranch, mountain streams flow through the lush grasslands, enhancing each other. The Southern Shaanxi is located in Qinling-Bashan Mountains. With canyons and karst caves spread all over the region, this region is elegantly attractive dotted with hills, rivers and lakes.

　　为了保护好多彩宜人的自然环境，陕西实施了最严格的污染控制措施，并坚持数十年在陕北临近沙漠地区大面积植树造林。如今陕西林草覆盖率已经超过70%，大熊猫、金丝猴、朱鹮、羚牛等近百种濒危动物在此生息繁衍并扩大了种群。位于陕南的汉丹江始终保持良好水质，为我国南水北调中线工程提供了70%的水量，今天大家喝到的水，有的就来自陕西。

　　In order to protect the colorful and gorgeous natural environment, Shaanxi has implemented the strictest pollution control measures and carried out afforestation for tens of years in Northern Shaanxi in the proximity of the desert. Now Shaanxi has a grass coverage rate of over 70%, nearly a hundred endangered animals species live and multiply here including panda, golden monkey, crested ibis, takin, etc. Good water quality has always been maintained in the Hanjiang & Danjiang River Basin in Southern Shaanxi. The basin provides 70% of the water of the middle route of south-to-north water diversion project. Some of the water you drink today is from Shaanxi.

　　H代表Historic，反映出陕西悠久灿烂的历史文化。在中华文明传承的漫长历史中，陕西扮演着极其重要的角色。中国的人文始祖黄帝，5000年前即在这里开创了中华文明，他的玄孙后稷在这里创造出灿烂的农耕文化，被称为中国的农业始祖。哲学家老子，2500年前在陕西讲授“道德经”，成就了难以企及的哲学巅峰。西汉时代的张骞，从古长安城出使西域，开辟了绵延2100多年、贯穿欧亚的丝绸之路。周、秦、汉、唐等13个朝代曾经在陕西建都，历时1100多年，留下了5万多处不可移动的珍贵遗址、超过100万件的馆藏文物，其完整性、丰富性和至高性举世罕见。这其中，为人熟知的“世界第八大奇迹”兵马俑是典型代表，而存有佛祖释迦摩尼舍利子的宝鸡法门寺、世界迄今保存最完整的西安城墙，也同样令世人瞩目。

　　H stands for “Historic”, reflecting the long and splendid history and culture of Shaanxi. Shaanxi played a crucial role in the long history of the Chinese civilization. It was in here that the Yellow Emperor started the Chinese civilization over 5000 years ago. And then his great-great-grandson Hou Ji created the Chinese farming culture here. He is thus referred to as the Originator of Chinese Agriculture. It was also in here that the great philosopher Laozi taught Taoism 2,500 years ago and achieved incomparable accomplishments in philosophy. It was from the ancient Chang’an city that Zhang Qian started his mission to western countries in the Western Han Dynasty, thus creating the “Silk Road” connecting Europe and Asia that lasted for over 2,100 years. Thirteen dynasties built their capitals in Shaanxi for a total span of over 1,100 years including Zhou, Qin, Han and Tang Dynasty. As a result, more than 50,000 immovable historical sites and over 100 million cultural relics have been found in Shaanxi. They are intact, diversified and of high level, which is rare in the world. The “Eighth Wonder of the World”-the Terra-cotta Army is a typical example of them. The Famen Temple in Baoji which houses the relics of the founder of Buddhism-Sakyamuni Buddha and the Ancient City Wall of Xi’an have also attracted worldwide attention.

　　陕西的历史文化是中国的瑰宝，也是全人类的共同财富。为了让人们更好品味和欣赏，我们通过改革创新，打造出融遗址保护、民俗风情、休闲美食于一体的全新体验。最近五年，到陕西观光的中外游客就达14.14亿人次，相当于全世界人口的五分之一。越来越多的外国朋友正是通过走进陕西，开始了解了中国。

　　The historic culture of Shaanxi is both the treasure of China and the shared wealth of mankind. In order to enable people to better appreciate the charm Shaanxi’s history and culture, we innovated a brand new model of tour experience which integrates relics protection, folk customs, recreation and food specialties. In the recent five years, Shaanxi has attracted 1.414 billion tourists from home and abroad, which is equivalent to one-fifth of the world’s total population. More foreign friends start to get to China by visiting Shaanxi.

　　A代表Abundant，体现了陕西丰沛富集的矿产储备。陕西是中国的资源大省，已发现矿产138种，潜在经济价值约42万亿元，超过全国总量的三分之一。其中，煤炭和石油的探明储量分别为1672亿吨和8.38亿吨，天然气预测储量约3.35万亿立方米，煤、油、气产量均居全国前三，陕西也因此而成为西气东输、西电东送、西煤东运的国家重要的能源基地。刚才我介绍了陕北的风光，那里有一个叫做榆林的城市，平均每平方米的土地下就储藏着6.4吨煤、130立方米天然气、130吨盐，目前正在建设国家级的高端能源化工基地，已建设了4条向华北地区输送天然气的管线。

　　A stands for “Abundant”, indicative of the abundant and rich mineral reserves of Shaanxi. Shaanxi is a big province of China in terms of resources. Over 138 mineral resources have been discovered in Shaanxi with potential economic value of about 42 trillion RMB, more than one-third of country’s total. The proved reserves of coal and petroleum are 167.2 billion tons and 838 million tons respectively. The predicted reserve of natural gas is about 3.35 trillion steres. Our output of coal, petroleum and natural gas are all among the top three of the whole country. That’s why Shaanxi is an important energy base of China in the west-to-east gas transmission project, west-to-east power transmission project and west-to-east coal transportation project. In Northern Shaanxi I mention to you earlier, there’s a city called Yulin, where there is an average reserve of 6.4 tons of coal, 130 steres of natural gas and 130 tons of salt under each square meter of land. We are building a high-end state-level energy and chemical base in this city. And four pipelines for transmitting natural gas to Northern China have been completed.

　　另一个A则代表Active, 表明了陕西源源不断的创新活力。科技是推动发展的最强动力，每一次科技革命都深刻改变了世界发展的格局。陕西的科技力量在全国处在领先地位，共有高校96所，各类科研院所1000多个，国家和省级重点实验室92个，在校学生108.3万人，专业技术人员110万人。去年，全省技术交易额超过720亿元、专利授权量3.34万件，均居全国第四，大批前沿科研成果被应用于产业发展、环境优化、城市建设等领域，为发展注入了强大动力。陕西已经在能源化工、先进装备制造、电子信息、航空航天、生物医药等产业领域形成了实力雄厚的技术创新体系，大型运输机、3D打印、无人机等一批处在行业尖端的项目取得了重大进展，自主研发的超净排放技术使燃煤电厂排放好于天然气的标准。当前又着眼新一轮技术革命的趋势，启动了石墨烯、量子通信、第五代移动通信、自旋磁存储等前沿技术研发，相信不久就能实现突破，为中国乃至世界的发展贡献更多力量。

　　The other A stands for “Active”, showing the outpouring innovation vitality of Shaanxi. Science and technology are the strongest driving force of development. Each scientific and technical revolution has profoundly changed the pattern of world development. Shaanxi is the leading province in China in terms of scientific and technological strength. Shaanxi is home to over 1000 various scientific research institutions, 92 state-level and provincial key labs, 1.083 million students at school and 1.11 million technology professionals. Last year, the volume of trade in technology exceeded 72billion RMB, 33,400 patents were granted, ranking fourth in the whole country. A large number of cutting-edge scientific research achievements have been applied in various fields such as industry development, environment improvement and city construction, injecting great impetus to development. Shaanxi has formed strong technical innovation systems in industries including energy and chemical industry, advanced equipment manufacturing, electronic information, aerospace and bio-medicine. Many cutting-edge projects such as large transport airplane, 3D printing and unmanned aerial vehicle have seen great achievements. Our self-developed ultra clean exhaust emission control technology enable the emission of coal-fired power plants to be cleaner than the standards of natural gas. At present, we are focusing on the new trends of technological revolution and initiated the research and development of cutting-edge technologies including graphene, quantum communication, the fifth generation of mobile communication and spin valve magnetic memory. I believe we will achieve breakthroughs soon and make greater contributions to the development of China and the world.

　　N代表Nice，描绘了陕西和谐美好的人民生活。陕西有3793万群众，生活在10个市、1个示范区和107个县区之中。他们的生活很舒适，不仅是因为自然环境宜人，还因为通过推进新型城镇化发展，城市的服务更加现代和智能，乡村的设施更加细致和完备。他们的生活很安逸，因为陕西已经坚持多年实施了新增财力和财政支出“两个80%”用于民生的财政政策，在就业、社保、医疗、教育、住房等各个方面，都建立起高标准、广覆盖的保障体系，让大家充分享受了发展的成果。他们的生活很便利，因为全省高速公路通车里程已突破5000公里，铁路营业里程达到4900公里，高速铁路通达周边省会形成了“一日生活圈”，西安通往莫斯科、西雅图、东京、赫尔辛基等国际城市的航线增加到36条，来一场“说走就走的旅行”并不是奢望。他们的生活很和睦，各个民族朝夕相处，相互尊重，共同凝聚起爱国守信、勤劳质朴、宽厚包容、尚德重礼、务实进取的陕西精神。

　　N stands for nice, indicative of the wonderful and harmonious life led by Shaanxi people. There is a population of 37.93 million in Shaanxi scattered throughout 1 demonstration zone and 107 counties/districts in 10 cities. The people here lead a comfortable life. Because Shaanxi has a pleasant natural environment and the new-type urbanization process has resulted in more modern and smarter service in the urban areas as well as more and better facilities in the rural areas. Benefiting from the development, each and every one in Shaanxi province also lives cozily. Over the past few years, the Shaanxi provincial government has earmarked 80% of its newly-increased financial resources and 80% of its fiscal expenditure on improving people’s livelihoods. We have fully and widely ensured the people’s employment, social insurance, education, housing and other necessities. The life in Shaanxi is extraordinarily convenient as well. In addition to more than 5,000 kilometers of expressways and 4,900 kilometers of railroads within the province, the high-speed railway enables one-day trips to all the capitals of the surrounding provinces. 36 international air routes including those to Moscow, Seattle, Tokyo and Helsinki make an impulsive travel possible. People in Shaanxi also live in harmony as people of different ethnic groups living together with mutual respect. The Shaanxi spirit of loving the country, being diligent, simple, generous, inclusive, honest, down-to-earth, respecting virtues and etiquettes have formed.

　　X是一个特殊单词，这里象征着陕西未来发展无限美好的前景。得益于国家改革开放、西部大开发、“一带一路”等战略的政策支持，在全省人民的共同努力下，陕西经济社会保持了长达十余年的高速发展。刚刚过去的五年，我们面对波及全球的巨大下行压力，仍然保持了年均11.1%的经济增长，去年经济总量达到了1.82万亿元，站在了新的历史起点上。从今年起，陕西与国家同步进入了第十三个五年规划时期，我们的目标是：到2020年，全省生产总值达到3万亿元、人均超过1万美元，基本公共服务实现均等化，人民生活水平和质量进一步提高。我们坚信，在中央政府的坚强领导下，只要我们坚持创新、协调、开放、绿色、共享五大新发展理念不动摇，加速释放科技、资源、文化等潜在优势，就一定能够在错综复杂的宏观经济环境把握住未来前进的方向，让陕西变得更加富裕、和谐、美丽，把全省人民对未来无限美好的憧憬变成现实。

　　As a special letter, X symbolizes an immeasurably great prospect of Shaanxi’s development. Supported by China’s strategic policies of reform and opening-up, western development and the Belt and Road initiative, Shaanxi people have endeavored to keep the economy rapidly growing for more than 10 years. In the past 5 years when the province was confronted with the global downward pressure, Shaanxi’s economy still managed to grow at an average annual rate of 11.1%. Last year, the total size of our economy reached historical high: 1.82 trillion yuan. 2016 marks the beginning of the 13th five-year plan of both China and Shaanxi. And our goal for this plan is that by 2020, Shaanxi’s GDP is to reach 3 trillion yuan with the per capita GDP surpassing 10 thousand dollars, and that equitable basic public service is to be achieved, and that the living standards and quality of life in Shaanxi are to be improved. We’re convinced that under the strong leadership of the central government, we’ll stick to the five new development concepts of innovation, coordination, opening-up, green and sharing and make the best of our advantages in science and technology, resources and culture. In this way, we can find a right direction in such a complicated macro-economic environment, making Shaanxi a more prosperous, harmonious and beautiful place and turning the people’s longing for a bright future into reality.

　　最后一个字母I，代表International，展示了陕西走向世界的开放形象。我们深知，在经济全球化的大背景下，陕西的发展离不开与世界的交流与合作。作为丝绸之路的起点，陕西自古就是中国与世界联系的窗口。随着近年来交通设施的不断完善和国家“一带一路”战略的深入实施，陕西再次站在了对外开放的前沿位置。目前，我省已和190多个国家和地区建立了经贸联系，世界500强企业有112家在陕落户，总投资300亿美元的三星电子项目先期工程已建成投产。西安机场获批72小时过境免签，去年旅客吞吐量突破3300万人次。全省海关特殊监管区达到5个，“西安港”作为国家一类临时口岸，所有沿海港口都在这里汇聚通往中亚和欧洲。“长安号”国际货运班列实现往返常态运行，西安新筑站已成为丝绸之路经济带最大的物流集散中心。

　　The last letter I represents International, meaning that Shaanxi is opening itself wide to the outside world. Against the backdrop of economic globalization, we’re always fully aware of the fact that international exchanges and cooperation are indispensable to Shaanxi’s development. As the starting point of the Silk Road, Shaanxi has been a window for the world to connect China since ancient times. With the improvement of transportation facilities and the implementation of the Belt and Road Initiative, Shaanxi stands once again at the forefront of China’s opening-up. As of today, we have established economic and trade ties with over 190 countries and regions. 112 of the Fortune Global 500 have investments in Shaanxi, and the first phase of Samsung Electronics project worth 30 billion dollars has gone into operation. With the 72-hour visa waiver for transit passengers, the passenger throughput of Xi’an Xianyang International Airport exceeded 33 million last year. Now there are 5 special zones supervised by the customs in Shaanxi. Xi'an International Trade & Logistics Park is one of China’s Class 1 temporary ports. All cargo from coastal cities have to be transferred from this port to Central Asia and Europe. As the “Chang’an” International Freight Train went into regular operation, Xi’an Xinzhu Railway Station has become the biggest logistics center along the Silk Road Economic Belt.

　　大家一定注意到，近年来在陕西举办的重大经贸和外事活动越来越多。去年，“一带一路”海关高层论坛、丝绸之路旅游部长会议、上合组织经贸部长会议在陕西召开，特别是习近平主席在家乡接待了印度总理莫迪先生，吸引了全世界的目光。今年，我们成功举办了87个国家或地区的10多万名客商参会的首届丝绸之路博览会，不久前，二十国集团妇女会议和农业部长会议又刚刚在西安闭幕。

　　You may have noticed that in recent years, more and more important activities concerning economy, trade and foreign affairs have been held in Shaanxi. Last year, the “One belt, One road” High-Level Customs Forum, the Conference of Tourism Ministers of Countries along the Silk Road and the Conference of Economic and Trade Ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization were held in Shaanxi. In particular, President Xi Jinping received Indian Prime Minister Modi in his home province of Shaanxi, which captured worldwide attention. This year, we’ve successfully hosted the first Silk Road Exposition, which was attended by over 100 thousand visitors from 87 countries and regions. W20 meeting and G20 Agriculture Ministers Meeting just concluded before long in Xi’an.

　　越来越多的国家注意到了陕西在国际合作中的重要地位，泰国、韩国、柬埔寨等国家先后在西安设立了总领事馆。在外交部的支持下，我们正在加快建设西安领事馆区，希望各位驻华使节都能够积极推动在陕设馆，进一步加强双方的沟通联系。

　　As an increasing number of countries realize the importance of Shaanxi in international cooperation, Thailand, Korea and Cambodia have opened their consulates general in Xi’an. With the support of the foreign ministry, we’re stepping up the construction of the district for consulates. We hope that all present ambassadors and envoys can make the efforts to establish your consulates in Shaanxi, so as to strengthen our communications and relations.

　　女士们、先生们!

　　通过我的介绍，相信大家一定对“Shaanxi”有了更加深刻的认识。但对于这样一个古老而又现代、绿色并且时尚的省份来讲，短短一个上午的推介，还远远不能展现出它全部的魅力。我们真诚欢迎各位朋友有机会都能够亲自到陕西走一走、看一看，在迷人的山水间放松身心，在安静的城墙下品味历史，在城市和乡村中感受陕西人的淳朴和热情。我在陕西等着大家!

　　Ladies and gentlemen!

　　I believe you have gained a deeper understanding of “Shaanxi” through my presentation. A presentation like this is still a far cry from displaying all the charisma of this ancient yet modern, green and fashionable province. We sincerely welcome friends from all around the world to visit Shaanxi, to relax in its enchanting scenery, feel the history at the foot of the tranquil ancient city walls and feel the simplicity and hospitality of Shaanxi people in the urban and rural areas. I’ll be there waiting for you!

　　谢谢!

　　Thank you!