Editor’s note

All the roads will eventually lead to distant places, and the sea is wide enough to accommodate hundreds of rivers. This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiative. Over the past ten years, the construction of the Belt and Road has achieved fruitful results, and Xinjiang, with promoting the construction of the core area of Silk Road Economic Belt as a drive, has incorporated its regional opening-up strategy into the overall layout of the country’s opening up to the west.

On the 10th anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiative, Xinjiang Daily launched the “Road of Prosperity—Belt and Road Reporting Project”. From now on, under the general column of the Road of Prosperity, stories about the ten-year practice of the Belt and Road Initiative will be reported. The project will focus on the struggles, touching stories and vivid journeys of governments, enterprises and individuals in the construction of the Belt and Road Initiative over the past ten years, and give full play to the advantages of integrated media to present the development and changes of the Belt and Road Initiative in a variety of forms. Stay tuned to this series.

Shiliuyun-Xinjiang Daily (Reporters: Liu Donglai, Rayda) news: It was August 7, 2023, the 326th day that Mahejiang has been working at the China-Kazakhstan (Lianyungang) Logistics Cooperation Base. When concentrating on the translation of Russian and Kazak letters, Mahejiang pursed up his lips slightly and raised his thick eyebrows towards the center of his forehead, forming an inverted Chinese character “八” (八 means eight). Time seems to freeze in front of him. However, with the young man's fingertips floating over the keyboard, the Chinese words appear smoothly and jump lightly on the computer screen.

When he saw the reporters, he quickly stood up. “Hello! You are the reporters from Xinjiang!” A smile immediately overflowed from Mahejiang’s lips, and his Mandarin was so good that one couldn’t believe he was from Kazakhstan. Looking through his shoulders, on the giant storage tank outside the window, the big red words “Connecting the continental bridge, Sailing in the Pacific Ocean” spread out under the blue sky like a pair of outstretched arms.

Photo taken on August 7, 2023 shows a reporter of the “Road of Prosperity—Belt and Road Reporting Project” interview team  interviews Mahejiang.

The way Mahejiang looked at us was not quite the same as the others, apart from being friendly, there was something more that made people feel close to him without realizing it. We didn’t understand why until he smiled and said, “I was born in Toli County, Tacheng Prefecture, northwest China’s Xinjiang.”

He was born at the very time when the Silk Road trade was surging. In the 1990s, the vitality of China’s reform and opening up surged like a spring tide at the Bhaktu Port in Tacheng, and the people of Kazakhstan and China on both sides of the port caught up with a golden age of cross-border trade.

“My uncle’s family is in Toli County, more than 100 kilometers away from the Bhaktu Port. At the time, my uncle was engaged in foreign trade, and his business was running very well, so he invited my parents to come to China from Kazakhstan, where there were many opportunities.” In 1994, with a loud cry, a little boy was born, and the first piece of sky he saw was Toli County’s.

This bond continued throughout Mahejiang’s childhood and youth. At the age of nine, his parents sent him back to Toli County to go to primary school for a year. “It was just to learn Chinese. My father said that learning Chinese would be useful in the future. He had great foresight!” Mahejiang said.

Thus, going to China was like a seed buried in Mahejiang’s heart, which then blossomed into a gorgeous flower. In 2013, Mahejiang was 19 years old, and little did the young man realize that, like his father’s generation who benefited from China’s reform and opening up, his life would change drastically due to another golden age of the Silk Road trade. That year, President Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, first proposed the initiative to build the Silk Road Economic Belt in Mahejiang’s home country of Kazakhstan. Soon after, the China and Kazakhstan (Lianyungang) Logistics Cooperation Base was formally established in Lianyungang City, the eastern end of the Pacific Ocean, which was the first project implemented after the launch of the Belt and Road Initiative.

The deepening exchanges and cooperation between countries have opened a brand new window in the lives of countless ordinary people. “After finishing my undergraduate studies, I came to Northwest A&F University to pursue my postgraduate degree. China and Kazakhstan have always been very close, both economically and culturally, and I hope to learn more,” Mahejiang said.　　

Once again, fate has connected him to China. “After graduating from Northwest A&F University, a friend of mine introduced me to the China-Kazakhstan (Lianyungang) Logistics Cooperation Base, saying that I could release my feelings for both China and Kazakhstan here, and feel at home. I didn’t know the specifics of Lianyungang at that time, but I came anyway. I was young and I should see the world!”

This tall young man really saw the world here. “When I first came to Lianyungang, I felt shocked at first. I had never seen such a big harbor.” Mahejiang said countless ships from various countries sailed into the port from the Pacific Ocean, millions of containers filled with goods were loaded and unloaded in the port, and long China-Europe Railway Expresses whistled out of the port, which was a scene he had never seen. The intersection of the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road in Lianyungang City made Mahejiang realize for the first time that he was living in a great era. “I only live once and do not want to miss this opportunity.”

Photo taken on August 7, 2023 shows Mahejiang translates letters. (Photo by Xinhua Daily Lianyungang Branch/ Song Tao)

That is a young man’s promise to himself, and reality is testing him every day. Mahejiang’s daily work involves dealing with all kinds of documents and translating correspondences and logistics applications, etc. In the past ten years, the trade volume of the China and Kazakhstan (Lianyungang) Logistics Cooperation Base has been rising year by year, and behind every piece of correspondence is a huge amount of economic activity. Such letters do not come a few at a time, but dozens. “There are times when hundreds of pages of documents are piled up in front of me, and the translation pressure is so big. The good thing is that my Chinese colleagues take very good care of me. At my most difficult times, they were all there!” Mahejiang smiled again, “Now, I feel so good working here.”

In recent years, the successful completion and operation of the China-Kazakhstan Horgos International Frontier Cooperation Center, the China-Kazakhstan (Lianyungang) Logistics Cooperation Base, and the Horgos Special Economic Zone have greatly facilitated the interconnection of China and Kazakhstan. “Last time, when I went back to my home country, I saw more and more Chinese brand vehicles on the streets of Kazakhstan, and more and more Chinese enterprises have based in Kazakhstan.” Mahejiang said that his brother works for a Chinese company in Kazakhstan.

As for himself, he is enjoying his life and work in China to the fullest. “Every day in China is a valuable experience to me, which I will definitely cherish, and if I can, I hope to stay for a long time,” Mahejiang said with a smile.

“If you are so fond of China, why not marry a Chinese girl?”

“Sounds like a good suggestion.”

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