Media inspired by Jiangsu journey

The media group visits the exhibition room of the Lianyungang Xuwei New Area. [Wang Zhuangfei / China Daily]

Lianyungang, an important hub of the Eurasian continental bridge and a well-known seaport in China, was an integral part of the famous Chinese novel Journey to The West.

Its four landscapes, the mountains, sea, islands and seaport, as well as three major ecological systems, interact in perfect harmony.

Suzhou, in the southeast part of Jiangsu and the central part of the Yangtze River Delta, is otherwise known as the "Venice of China" — and for good reason.

The 100 celestial gardens and the Grand Canal running through it from North to South, leaves romance hanging in the atmosphere.

Suzhou can make the perfect scenic tourist city in China, where smiling is the local language and warmth is the general feeling.

The 2,600-year-old Pinjiang Street is where time will slow down just for you to look around and breathe history in, as you walk down the bricked road and visit little shops and stores with historic and modern artifacts alike.

We visited Hengtong group, which opened the first optical fiber manufacturing company in my country.

The visit to Saint Joy silk company showed us the importance of the industry in China, as they not only supplied the apparel for the leaders at the APEC 2014, but also provided the silk for the wedding dresses of Kate Middleton, Duchess of Cambridge, and Princess Diana of Wales.

China Daily's hospitality and kindness was immeasurable and I thank it for everything it has done for us.

All in all, the whole trip was eye-opening as urbanization and development mingled beautifully with history and culture. The more I learned and the more I saw, the more I wanted to keep learning and seeing.

I can now, very confidently say, that China and I began a romance that is not ready to end anytime soon.

Naziba Basher is a reporter and feature writer for The Daily Star in Bangladesh.