Members of international media tour A Date with China visited local sauna suit brand Hotsuit in Shishi of Quanzhou, East China's Fujian province, on Friday, experiencing the vibrant development of China's textile and garment industry.

In recent years, the domestic sportswear brand has emerged on the international stage, not only competing head-to-head with international brands in some niche markets but also leading the industry's development.

As one of the rising domestic brands, Hotsuit, founded in 2015 in Shishi, pioneers a new category with its sauna suits and exports to 78 countries and regions worldwide, becoming a leader in the sauna suit market.

Shi Junqi, the founder of Hotsuit, remarked that Quanzhou is not only the starting point of Maritime Silk Road but also a renowned hub of the garment industry. "The global connection and cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative has given local garment brands unprecedented opportunities to go abroad," Shi said. The overseas sales of Hotsuit account for approximately 35 percent of its total sales and are expected to increase to 50 percent by the end of this year, according to Shi.

As one of the representatives of Quanzhou's textile and garment industry, the company has also committed to boosting intelligent manufacturing to expand the advantages of its products with innovation.

Shi observed that, with the continuous development of the Chinese textile industry, the domestic brands will play a more leading role globally and provide more possibilities for the upgrading of China's manufacturing industry

Yasmin von Roon, an Internet influencer from Italy, tried Hotsuit's sauna suit and was amazed by the high technology injected into the sportswear. "I hope the cooperation on technology and innovation between Chinese and Italian sportswear enterprises can be boosted, which will bring benefits to the people's daily life in both countries," she said.

China-based foreign media correspondents, foreign internet influencers and domestic journalists with A Date with China media tour indulged in a banquet themed on Maritime Silk Road from the Song (960-1279) and Yuan (1271-1368) Dynasties on Thursday in Shishi of Quanzhou, East China's Fujian province, acquiring a deeper and more comprehensive understanding of China's Maritime Silk Road culture.

Quanzhou was a crucial starting point and trade hub of ancient Maritime Silk Road that connected coastal Chinese cities with destinations around the world. During the Song (960-1279) and Yuan (1271-1368) dynasties, Quanzhou was the earliest port and city to open to the outside world, attracting merchants from all over the world.

As part of Quanzhou, Shishi inherits the Maritime Silk Road culture and creates a city bustling with diverse and integrated cultures. The local food vividly reflects this rich heritage and the banquet themed on Maritime Silk Road showcases the unique culinary culture of the world maritime trade center during the Song (960-1279) and Yuan (1271-1368) Dynasties.

A Date with China 2024 international media tour kicked off in Shishi of Quanzhou, East China's Fujian province, on Thursday with a launch ceremony held in the county-level city which is renowned for its booming textile and garment industry.

This year's A Date with China media tour, themed "Develop New Quality Productive Forces, Sharing Chinese Opportunities", will take domestic and international reporters, international internet influencers, and experts to visit Quanzhou and Zhangzhou of Fujian province to learn more about the province's significance in the country's high-quality development, cross-border trade and international cultural exchanges.

According to Li Xin, deputy editor-in-chief of China Daily Multimedia and organizer of the tour, for three consecutive years, the media tour has taken international media members, web influencers and experts from nearly 50 countries as well as Chinese journalists to nearly 20 provinces and autonomous regions in the country. Based on their experiences from the tours, the international members of the tour publish stories and create content on social media to share the real China and tell their China stories to the whole world.

Fujian, as the eastern starting point of ancient Maritime Silk Road, is now the core area of the Maritime Silk Road in the 21st century. The province has gathered a large number of well-known domestic and foreign enterprises, covering various fields such as new energy, intelligent manufacturing and digital economy.

Alexander Stephen Long, a staff member of China Daily website who is from the United Kingdom, said he was impressed by the thriving cooperation between China and the EU and is keen to witness more firsthand fruits of the exchanges between the two sides from the tour of Fujian.

A Date with China media tour will visit the production workshops of enterprises, trade centers and cultural heritage sites to explore vibrant practices of boosting new quality productive forces and feel the opportunities that China's high-quality development brings to the world.