The recent 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) has inspired the world with the Chinese experience, said foreign delegates in Beijing to attend a workshop on the congress.

Nearly 200 foreign officials and academics from 35 countries, including Cuba, Macedonia and Peru, took part in a Chinese Academy of Governance workshop on the congress Tuesday.

The vice president of the academy delivered a speech, “New Era, New Idea, New Journey,” which summarized the achievements of the past five years and introduced the vision of the future set out during the congress.

Three academicians gave talks on governance of the CPC, a community of shared future for humanity, and the main experiences of China’s economic development.

Marin Triana Zamira Maria, Cuban vice-minister of labor and social security, said Cuba could learn from China, combining the Chinese experience with the characteristics of Cuba to develop Cuban socialism.

Uliana Stici, a Moldovan political advisor, said that in the last five years, China had made major achievements in economic development, the digital economy, high-speed rail, highways, bridges and agricultural modernization.

Stici said that the Chinese governance model had become much stronger and more attractive to other countries inspired by China and the Chinese dream.

Nenad Kolev, director-general of the Macedonian Foreign Ministry shared a similar view, saying the 19th National Congress of the CPC had been studied widely in Macedonia.

He believes the unique Chinese development model is applicable to other countries, and can assimilate their characteristics. China’s combination of a market economy under the guidance of the socialist theory had greatly benefitted the country and the world, he said.

Most of the foreign visitors are also attending other academy seminars in Beijing. A total of 8,500 officials from 159 countries have participated in Chinese Academy of Governance seminars, according to Liu Hongyi, director-general of the academy training center.

Chinese President Xi Jinping Wednesday called on journalists to strengthen their confidence in the path, theory, system, and culture of socialism with Chinese characteristics.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the statement in a congratulatory letter to the All-China Journalists Association (ACJA) on its 80th anniversary.

Xi said he expects journalists to maintain a close connection with the people, record the events of the great times, tell China’s stories well, spread China’s voice, herald the message of victory and raise national morale, for the realization of the two centenary goals and national rejuvenation.

He also urged the ACJA to understand and implement the spirit of the 19th CPC National Congress, keep in mind its duty to carry out the Party’s publicity work, reform itself, enhance its political consciousness, become more advanced, and better represent the people.

The ACJA is also required to better organize journalists.

A ceremony was held Wednesday morning to celebrate the anniversary of the ACJA. Wang Huning, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, addressed the ceremony.

Wang urged all people working in news media to carefully study and understand the Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, and to publicize the spirit of the CPC congress in a clear and intelligible manner.

He also asked the ACJA to deepen reform and organize Chinese journalists to firmly follow the Party.

Vice Premier Liu Yandong read Xi’s congratulatory letter at the event, which was attended by about 300 people.

Under CPC leadership, the ACJA is a national association of China’s journalism profession. It now has 217 member organizations and connections with staff at over 6,800 news media nationwide.

Over 11,000 people have been evacuated in southern China’s Hainan Province after heavy rain battered the island, the provincial flood control authority said Wednesday

Heavy downpours started to hit Hainan on Monday, with a total of 46 townships affected, the authority said.

In the city of Wanning, over 78 villages were flooded, a highway section was inundated and all schools were suspended for Tuesday.

Fire fighters, border patrol and armed police are taking part in rescue operations. All low-lying areas have been cordoned off and several tourists destinations have been closed, the authority said.

China’s research icebreaker Xuelong set sail from Shanghai early Wednesday beginning the country’s 34th Antarctic expedition.

A team of more than 300 will make the 164-day trip of 37,000 nautical miles. They are expected to return to Shanghai in April next year.

The icebreaker will arrive in New Zealand to stock up on supplies in around 18 days. It will then sail south to the west coast of the Ross Sea, where researchers will conduct preliminary work on China’s fifth station in the Antarctic, one of the key objectives of this expedition.

The fifth station will be a year-round research station able to independently carry out multiple scientific investigations in the Antarctic.

According to Yang Huigen, who leads the expedition team, researchers will also conduct other tasks during the trip such as observations of land, ocean, atmosphere, ice shelf and biology, establishment of an observation and monitoring network in the Antarctic, and survey of marine environmental protection.

Xuelong, whose name means snow dragon, is currently China’s only polar icebreaker in service. In October, it completed the country’s eighth Arctic expedition.

Chinese archaeologists have discovered a Neolithic stone burial site by the side of a river on the border between China and Russia.

The Xiaonanshan ruins in Raohe County, northeast China’s Heilongjiang Province, are located on the Chinese side of the Wusuli River, known as Ussuri in Russia.

Archeologists have excavated more than 20 tombs and unearthed a trove of cultural relics including jade, stoneware and pottery, dating back around 9,000 years, according to the provincial institute of archaeology.

Li Youqian with the institute said the tombs are built with malmstone and basalt. Basalt cannot be found in the surrounding area, which means that ancient people transported the stone from other areas, he said.

The tomb chambers have very small space, some less than one meter long and archeologists believe that the bodies were placed in the tomb on one side with limbs flexed.

Li said the tombs also suggested a gap between the rich and poor in burial practices, as some tombs have large amounts of burial artifacts while others have none.

Traces of powdered human bones were found in some tombs. Further study will be required to identify the burial customs and living behaviors of the ancient community, he said.

The ruins were found at Xiaonanshan, a public park on a small hill, where residents enjoy views of the river and Russia on the other side.

Yang Yongcai, a local cultural official, said the river has abundant fish stock and the surrounding large areas of virgin forest would have provided sufficient food sources for early human settlers.