Ｓｐｅｃｉａｌ ＴＶ Ｄｏｃｕｍｅｎｔａｒｙ Ｒｏａｄ ｏｆ Ｆｒｉｅｎｄｓｈｉｐ

From the end of 1963 to the beginning of 1964， Premier Zhou Enlai as a Chinese leader led a government delegation to visit Egypt， Algeria， Morocco， Tunisia， Ghana， Mali， Guinea， Sudan， Ethiopia and Somalia for the first time. This visit with the longest duration and covering the most countries in the history of new China’s diplomacy， was reputed as a visit of “seeking friendship， peace and knowledge” and laid a solid foundation for Sino-African relations. To mark this historic event， the CPAFFC in cooperation with the Beijing Television Station sent a production team in March to shoot a special TV documentary entitled Road of Friendship by following the track of Premier Zhou’s visit.

By interviewing the relevant persons and visiting the places where Premier Zhou had been to， the documentary reviews Premier Zhou’s visit to Africa， manifesting the great contributions to new China’s diplomacy and impacts on the present Sino-African relations and China’s international status made by the revolutionaries of the older generation， and by showing today’s achievements in Sino-African relations， recalling and cherishing the memory of the hardships and difficulties and the pioneering deeds that new China’s diplomats had overcome and undertaken 40 years ago. CPAFFC President Chen Haosu and Editor in Chief of the Beijing TV Station Zhang Xiaoai personally went to Ethiopia， Sudan and Egypt and gave instructions on filming. A 7-member production team composed of staffers of the CPAFFC and the Beijing TV Station visited 9 African countries (except Somalia) for 32 days， covering 40，000 kilometers and taking 3，000 minutes of rushes.

During its stay in Africa， the production team altogether interviewed more than 40 people related with the historic visit including those who had witnessed the visit such as Souhir Abd Al-Kader， an Egyptian girl who presented flowers to Premier Zhou， Nana T. Ohene-Djah， an announcer of the Ghanaian National Radio Station who broadcast Chairman Mao’s telegram expressing sympathy to former Ghanaian President Kwame Nkrumah， Driss Guiga， former Tunisian minister of the interior， Seydou Badian Kouyate， a former Malian minister; incumbent important statesmen of the 9 African countries such as Alpha Oumar Konare， chairperson of the Commission of the African Union， John Agyekum Kufuor， president of Ghana， Dr. Mulatu Teshome， president of the House of Federation of Ethiopia; the widows or decendants of the former leaders of these African countries such as widows of the former Algerian President Houari Boumediene and the former Malian President Modibo Kéita， sons of the former Tunisian President Habib Bourguiba and former Ghanaian President Kwame Nkrumah.

The production team also interviewed the Chinese ambassadors to Ethiopia， Egypt， Algeria， Morocco， Tunisia， Guinea， Ghana and Mali in the embassies.

Besides filming the places that Premier Zhou had visited， the production team also filmed some model projects of Sino-African cooperation of mutual benefits such as the China-Africa Memorial Statue， the China Oil Refinery in Sudan， the Canal Medjerdah Cap-bon in Tunisia， the Chinese medical team in Algeria and a textile mill in Mali.

The production team also collected many historical photos reflecting Sino-African friendship and audio and video materials showing cultures and history of these countries.

The documentary Road of Friendship， which consists of 10 parts with each lasting 20 minutes， including editing and rearrangement of the historical data， interviews of eyewitnesses and incumbent leaders of China and these African countries， and on-the-spot filming by the production team， shows the past， the present and the future prospect of Sino-African friendship. Its premiere is tentatively set to be on BTV—1 at the prime time on the eve of the National Day. It will be shown on other channels after the National Day.