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Using images as a vessel to cross the sea of civilizations, and sincerity as a bridge to connect the twin cities' path. On August 19, 2026, the launch event of the China-Egypt co-produced documentary "Maritime Silk Road Twin Cities" was held at China Foreign Languages Publishing Administration in Beijing. The event was organized by the Fujian Provincial Radio and Television Bureau and Fujian Media Group, while the Satellite TV Center of Fujian Media Group undertook the execution.
Officials from the China Foreign Languages Publishing Administration, the Embassy of the Arab Republic of Egypt in China, the Fujian Provincial Radio and Television Bureau, Fujian Media Group, and other relevant departments attended, along with industry experts, the production team, and media outlets including Xinhua News Agency, People's Daily Overseas Edition, Guangming Daily, China News Service, China Daily, and Global Times, all witnessing the important moment when the film will be simultaneously broadcast on mainstream media in both countries.
Building Consensus and Opening a New Chapter in China-Egypt Film and Television Cooperation
The year 2026 marks the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and Egypt, and is also a key year for the deep integration of energy cooperation and cultural cooperation between the two countries. The four-part documentary "Maritime Silk Road Twin Cities" produced by Fujian Media Group is the first realistic documentary jointly produced by official Chinese and Egyptian television, focusing on contemporary China-Egypt people-to-people exchanges and cooperation.
The documentary uses the Chinese city of Quanzhou and the Egyptian city of Alexandria - the two millennial Maritime Silk Road cities - as coordinates, recording stories of exchange between China and Egypt in trade, culture, education, and other fields, showcasing the vivid practice of China-Egypt civilizational mutual learning under the "Belt and Road" initiative. In 2024, Fujian Media Group and Egypt's National Media Authority formed a joint production team, and filming and production took two years. The complete film consists of 4 episodes, each 15 minutes long. The film was selected in June 2026 for the third "New Era · New Images" China-Foreign Co-Production Plan, and will be released on August 20 as a work of China-Africa media and audiovisual cooperation at the 7th China-Africa Media Cooperation Forum.
Zhang Jinting's Speech: Three Dimensions to Tell the Story of Chinese Modernization
Zhang Jinting, Party Secretary and Director of China Foreign Languages Publishing Administration, said in his speech that 2026 is the first year of the "15th Five-Year Plan" and also the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and Egypt. The coincidence of these two时间节点 gives this launch event both the temperature of the times and the thickness of history, with special commemorative significance and communication value.
He explained that "Maritime Silk Road Twin Cities" applies the goal of telling the story of Chinese modernization to the world from three dimensions:
- First: Using the faint light of ordinary people as the narrative background to interpret the open and inclusive livelihood temperature of Chinese modernization.
- Second: Using millennial civilization as the narrative foundation to decode the tolerant and inclusive cultural core of Chinese modernization.
- Third: Using international co-production as an innovative path to broaden the multiple perspectives of international communication of Chinese modernization.
Wang Zhong's Speech: Fujian as the Core Area of the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road
Wang Zhong, Party Secretary and Director of Fujian Provincial Radio and Television Bureau, said in his speech that Fujian is the core area of the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road. In recent years, the Fujian Provincial Radio and Television Bureau has always made enhancing international communication capabilities and telling Fujian's Maritime Silk Road stories a key work direction, continuing to promote a series of measures such as China-foreign co-production, people-to-people emotional narrative, and all-media overseas communication, focusing on shaping Fujian's international image as trustworthy, lovely, and respectable.
He emphasized that "Maritime Silk Road Twin Cities" is closely related to the international communication work arrangements of the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee and the National Radio and Television Administration, and deeply aligns with Fujian Province's overall external communication thinking, using images to build a bridge for civilizational dialogue that crosses mountains and seas, which is a successful practice with outstanding results and clear features.
Using People as Media to Explore the Empathy Code of Cross-Cultural Communication
As the film title "Maritime Silk Road Twin Cities" suggests, this is not only a distant echo between one city and another, but also a mutual rush between one civilization and another in the river of time. The documentary turns its lens toward ordinary people in China-Egypt exchanges - business entrepreneurs, tourism workers, transnational families, incense-making inheritors, and archaeologists. They use the identity of "people's envoys" to cross cultural barriers through daily interaction, forming real samples of cross-cultural communication.
Symposium on Cross-Cultural Communication Using People as Media
A symposium on "Cross-Cultural Communication Using People as Media: The Value and Path of People's Narrative in International Communication" was held at the event, moderated by Peng Kan, lecturer at the School of Arts and Communication of Beijing Normal University and editor-in-chief of "Film and Television Industry Observation".
Hong Lei: Egypt is the Ideal Choice for Producing International Co-Produced Documentaries
Hong Lei, Member of the Party Committee and Vice Chairman of Fujian Media Group, presented the original purpose of creating the project. He said that Fujian, as the core area of the Maritime Silk Road, has always maintained a high awareness in external communication and international exchange, and Fujian Media Group in recent years has always focused on deepening documentary content around "the Strait, the Maritime Silk Road, and the Ocean".
He pointed out that Egypt, as an important country in Africa and the Middle East, and an ancient civilization like China, has a special and profound relationship between the two countries, making it the ideal choice for producing international co-produced documentaries. In 2020, the cultural counselor of the Egyptian Embassy in China was invited for the first time to visit Fujian and Quanzhou for field investigation, and based on communication and mutual trust, they step by step promoted the implementation of "Maritime Silk Road Twin Cities".
He expressed hope that the film can reflect the millennial memory of the Maritime Silk Road through contemporary China-Egypt people-to-people interaction, and through individual stories as an entry point, from small to large, convey the real and tangible emotional connections between the peoples of the two countries.
Yin Hong Summarizes Three Main Features of the Film
Yin Hong, Professor at Tsinghua University's School of Journalism and Communication and Vice Chairman of the China Film Association, summarized three main features of the film:
- First: Using the China-Egypt relationship as a background, basing on the daily life of ordinary people, and covering content in economics, trade, culture, history, education, and other fields.
- Second: Adhering to the people-oriented creative concept. The film's characters integrate into each other's lives, conveying feelings of mutual respect between the peoples of the two countries silently like rain nourishing plants.
- Third: Possessing historical depth. The film extends the vision of civilizational exchange to the heavy historical dimension, proving that the friendship between the two ancient civilizations of China and Egypt has deep and long-standing roots.
Li Fang Analyzes Four Transformations and Four Awarenesses
Li Fang, Deputy Editor-in-Chief of People's Daily Overseas Edition, analyzed four transformations and four awarenesses embodied in the film:
The Four Transformations:
- Transformation from academic language to public discourse
- Transformation from Chinese expression to world context
- Transformation from text reading to experiential perception
- Transformation from traditional expression to modern communication
The Four Awarenesses: Ocean awareness, historical awareness, audience awareness, and communication awareness. The complete film relies on marine culture as a foundation, uses the history of the Maritime Silk Road as a thread, uses real stories and daily details as a carrier, is full of infectious power, and has great potential in international communication.
He Suliu Summarizes the Creative Characteristics of the Film
He Suliu, Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Journalism and Communication at Communication University of China and Director of the Chinese Documentary Research Center, summarized the creative characteristics of the film:
- First: Clear narrative levels and precise design structure, from the history of the two ancient civilizations to the current presentation of China-Africa, China-Egypt, and twin city relations, progressing layer by layer.
- Second: Precise selection of twin city stories and vivid writing, such as the happy scene of China-Egypt transnational families, which is precisely a vivid proof of civilizational exchange.
- Third: Carrying a large pattern in a small size. Although the film only has a size of 4 episodes × 15 minutes, it has arranged multiple fields such as trade, culture, education, and archaeology, achieving the expressive effect from small to large.
Zhang Yanli: The Film Possesses Three Elements that Make it 'Good to Watch'
Zhang Yanli, Executive Deputy Director of the "New Perspective on Radio and Television" Center and Secretary-General of the Academic Committee of the China Television Artists Association Documentary Branch, believes that "Maritime Silk Road Twin Cities" possesses the three elements that make a documentary "good to watch":
- First: There is contrast and comparison. The ancient port of Quanzhou Zayton, the largest port in the East during the Song and Yuan dynasties, faces Alexandria across millennia, forming a strong temporal contrast.
- Second: Clear narrative and editing logic, forming a unique audio-visual rhythm.
- Third: People-centered. The film adheres to in-depth field filming in both countries, recording the real lives of ordinary people, reflecting the great era through small characters, and possessing precious era value.
Closing of the Event and Official Launch of the Film
After the new launch event, the activity successfully concluded with a commemorative photo session and media interviews. It is understood that "Maritime Silk Road Twin Cities" will officially land on mainstream media in China and Egypt in the near future, and will appear to audiences at home and abroad.
This documentary represents a pioneering model of media and cultural cooperation between China and Egypt, reflects the historical depth and close relations between the two ancient civilizations, and contributes to enhancing mutual understanding and friendship between the peoples of the two countries under the Belt and Road Initiative.
