By Selam Eshete
Editor in Chief of Fana Media Corporate, Ethiopia
As an Ethiopian woman walking the ancient paths of China’s philosophical and cultural heritage, I found myself not just observing, but deeply reflecting on what my own continent (and the world) can learn from these encounters. Prior to this year’s Belt and Road Journalists Forum was more than a series of visits; it was a conversation across civilizations, one that reaffirmed my belief in shared humanity and the power of dialogue to sustain peace.
Wang Yangming Valley: Where Thought and Action Become One
When I stood in the quiet embrace of Wang Yangming Valley, the weight of history felt personal. The scholars spoke of his teachings on how knowledge without action is empty, and action without knowledge is blind. In Ethiopia, we have a saying that literarly translates as ‘understanding must guide our steps’.
Yangming’s insistence that truth lives within the mind, not separate from it, reminded me of the concept of conscience, the inner moral compass. To see China’s modern achievements rooted in such philosophy gave me hope. If development is to last, it cannot be built on shifting sands. It needs the bedrock of wisdom, something Africa, too, holds in abundance.
The Hakka and the Future: Tradition as a Living Breath
Walking through the Hakka community, I touched walls that had sheltered generations. These round, fortress-like homes spoke of community, resilience, and ingenious adaptation. Back at home in Ethiopia, we have our own ancient wonders, like the rock-hewn churches of Lalibela. But in Shangwei Village Museum, I saw something new: history not locked away, but alive through digital storytelling. It was breathtakingly inspiring how the 400 plus years of history has been preserved not as relics, but as living narratives enhanced by digital storytelling. China has demonstrated a model for honoring heritage while embracing technology, a balance many societies struggle to achieve yet.
Later, in Ganzhou’s tech villages, I watched civilian drones rise over fields and artisans craft furniture with flawless precision. It struck me: China does not choose between past and future. It weaves them together. In Ethiopia, we too are balancing tradition with innovation (be it through digitalizing our manuscripts or modernizing coffee farming). The lesson is how progress does not erase identity; rather it should amplify it.
The Greater Lesson
As a journalist from a nation that has known both the scars of conflict and the promise of unity, I see in China’s Belt and Road a framework not just for trade, but for understanding. The world often speaks of ‘development’ as roads and ports, but true growth begins in the mind – in philosophies like Yangming’s, in the Hakka’s communal spirit.
If civilizations only shout past each other, we will never find peace. But if we listen, as I did in these valleys and villages, we realize how much we share rather than how different we are. The belief that knowledge must serve action, the respect for ancestors while reaching for the future, the understanding that no nation thrives alone.
I return to Ethiopia with stories, yes, but also with a conviction: the Belt and Road is not just China’s project. It is an invitation. An invitation to learn, to exchange, and to remember that our differences, when shared with open hearts, become the threads that weave a stronger world.
*The views and opinions expressed in the articles are solely those of the individual authors and do not reflect the position of the Secretariat of the Belt and Road Journalist Network.