Destination Report: Return to Henan, China

Introduction
I recently got the opportunity to revisit China, and Henan province in particular (not to be confused with Hunan or Hainan), after receiving and accepting an invitation at short notice.

My previous visit to Henan had been in 2024 when I visited Zhengzhou, Luoyang, Dengfeng and Kaifeng, primarily to see first-hand the development of the cargo hub built by HNCA following their investment in Cargolux in 2014 (for a 35% stake), but getting the opportunity to see so much more. This time round, the emphasis was more on industry and technology, with less on visiting temples and pagodas.

The "2026 China Storytelling Partnerships in Henan" event, organised by China Daily and the Information Office of Henan Province, involved around 20 "content creators", around half of which were from China Daily and the others from countries such as Lithuania, Spain, Egypt and Russia, with most currently living in China, some being traditional journalists / reporters, and others being influencers, active on platforms such as YouTube and Instagram.

Having been with the group for close on a week, I have witnessed how each work and apply their time and enthusiasm to creating content for their (publication's or channel's) readers or followers/viewers. For traditional journalists / reporters, the approach is traditional, whereas with influencers their approach means that either their entire life (often seven days a week) is in the public's eye, with others have supplementary income streams from a second, more conventional job, such as producing corporate videos, etc.

Interestingly, China does not currently allow influencers, bloggers, etc., hold press cards, something Luxembourg is currently in the process of changing with the adoption of the new press law. 

The five-day packed itinerary included both history and culture, as well as business/economics in both Zhengzhou, the provincial capital, and Luoyang, a nearby city steeped in history and cultural heritage.

One interesting perspective on the trip was that, in addition to reporting (via these articles, with photo galleries) in the traditional sense, I found myself being interviewed by newspapers such as China Daily and Henan Daily, being asked about my impressions both of what I was experiencing as well as changes since my last visit; I was thus both the interviewer (in a professional capacity) and the interviewee (in a private capacity). 

Also, being the elder (age wise, not necessarily journalistic experience), I found I was the one asking the most inquisitive questions and I felt for our interpreter who must have felt at time "Oh no, not him again, what's he going to ask this time?...", and it wasn't that I was asking for state secrets, it was simply that I was asking questions to which the guides didn't have the answer, the topics were outside their scope/remit. 

Travel and Accommodation

Although China Southern Airlines has operated its direct flight between Luxembourg and Zhengzhou since December 2023, it it just once a week. As a result I flew Luxembourg-Istanbul-Guangzhou-Zhengzhou, with the trip taking around 22 hours and a time difference of 6 hours. Within China, most of the visits were by coach (air conditioned, thankfully), with the Zhengzhou-Luoyang travel by high-speed train, the comfortable and smooth journey taking just 30 minutes (more time was spent at the railway station sorting tickets than travelling by train). Tickets are required to enter train stations, similar to boarding cards being required to access departure areas at airports, with non-nationals required to produce one's passport for scanning upon entry, access to the platform and upon exit. Nevertheless, the trains are modern, quick and comfortable.

For those intending to travel there, I would strongly recommend taking the direct China Southern Airlines flight that departs from Zhengzhou on Thursdays, and from Luxembourg on Fridays.

Accommodation in both cities was at hotels that Europeans would arguably classify at 4-star, with spacious and comfortable rooms with complementary drinks, fruit and snacks, breakfast buffets with mainly Chinese and some Western choices, and lunches and evening dinners in traditional Chinese private dining rooms, each with one circular table with 8-12+ seats. Lunches and dinners were similar (to each other), with different dishes offered, including meat, fish, vegetables, rice and noodles and, of course, the obligatory warm Chinese tea server in glasses. The staff, even with a language barrier in some cases, were all extremely courteous and would try their very best to respond positively to any question or request.

The only downside was the Internet access; with roaming turned off (no, I did not elect for an eSim), I was dependent on wifi connectivity at airports and hotels. That itself was not an issue, and I did have email access, but what was frustrating was that access to websites such as Google, Facebook, LinkedIn and international news sites such as the BBC was impossible. Apparently those who wish to circumvent these restrictions use VPN software. Another comms issue was that WhatsApp (favoured by many in Europe) is not used in China; however, WeChat is (it also facilitates payments as well as messaging). Alas, I did not want yet another app on my phone...

Opening Ceremony

At the Opening Ceremony, Ping Ping, Deputy Director of the Publicity Department of the CPC Henan Provincial Committee and Director of the Information Office of Henan Provincial People's Government, delivered the opening remarks and talked about China Daily as well as Henan's history and culture, mentioning it has five UNESCO heritage sites as well as ancient capitals of China). She described Henan as a key agriculture and transportation hub and encouraged those attending to share their experiences, create content and promote mutual learning. 

She was followed by Xing Zhigang, Deputy Editor-in-Chief of China Daily who referenced Henan's cultural prosperity and the 2023 initiative to help international journalists, with tools also including photo-journalism and social media to reach a global audience.

I had been invited to deliver one of the two keynote speeches, the other by a China Daily Reporter, Thomas Jay Hopkins, who is from the USA and had been in China just eight months. I focussed on how my international travel has enabled me see the world from different perspectives, and I also referenced my previous trip to Henan in 2024.

The related series of articles related to this trip includes the following:

- Tourism: Zhengzhou (Ruyi Lake; Beilonghu Wetland Park); Luoyang (Luoyi Ancient City; Longmen Grottoes)

- Culture: Museums (Dacheun Museum; Han-Wei Museum)

- Business: Industry (BYD; Yutong Bus; Robot 4S; Luoyang Bearing Group; YTO Tractors) and Consumers (Mixue; Dazhi Film)