2024 marks the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and France. China-France friendship will enter a new era, and China-France cultural exchange will also open a new chapter. Over these 60 years, countless ordinary people from both countries have made their own contributions to exchanges between the two nations, like trickling streams. Yvon VELOT, a Frenchman who has lived in Yunnan for 25 years, is one of them.

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Video: Witnessing China | "Old Kunming hand" Yvon VELOT: Building a "new bridge" for China-France exchangeSource: CCTV News App

　　Yvon VELOT, Kunming Representative of the French Chamber of Commerce and Industry in China:My name is Yvon VELOT, and my Chinese name is Pei Yifeng. I came to Kunming in 1998.

　　Yvon VELOT, Kunming Representative of the French Chamber of Commerce and Industry in China:At that time, several French companies came to Kunming to prepare for the Expo (World Horticultural Exposition), so I also came to Kunming to do consulting work. After the Expo ended, I felt that Yunnan was a good place to live. There were more and more flights, and now you could say there are more and more high-speed trains too, so I stayed in Kunming.

Yvon VELOT, Kunming Representative of the French Chamber of Commerce and Industry in China: Because I am a mechanical engineer, I am particularly interested in the technology of the Yunnan-Vietnam Railway. I gradually researched and collected old photos, glass negatives, and materials related to the Yunnan-Vietnam Railway. I have collected several thousand photographs, including materials on the Michelin internal combustion railcar. This is the French-made Michelin railcar that was used on the Yunnan-Vietnam Railway in Yunnan. From Hanoi to Kunming, it could take about a day.

　　Yvon VELOT, Kunming Representative of the French Chamber of Commerce and Industry in China:For me, the "Renzi Bridge" (the "herringbone bridge") is the most representative example of the advanced technology of the Yunnan-Vietnam Railway. The engineer who designed the "Renzi Bridge" used exactly the same technology as that of the Pont de Viaur in Tanus, France. A few years ago, precisely because of this bridge, because the same engineer designed the Pont de Viaur and the "Renzi Bridge," Pingbian County contacted Tanus, France, and a delegation from the Pingbian County government went to France. A delegation from Tanus also came to Yunnan, first in 2017, and on its second visit in 2019 the two places formally became sister cities. I also helped them make contact and translated the letters they wrote.

　　CCTV reporter Chen Hongyan:In fact, you personally have also become such a bridge in the process of China-France cultural exchange.

　Yvon VELOT, Kunming Representative of the French Chamber of Commerce and Industry in China:Yes, this is the most important thing.

　　Yvon VELOT, Kunming Representative of the French Chamber of Commerce and Industry in China:Yunnan's climate is quite good, so I like living in Kunming. I have gained weight in Yunnan because there is so much good food.

　　Reporter:Which Yunnan dishes do you particularly like to eat?

　　Yvon VELOT, Kunming Representative of the French Chamber of Commerce and Industry in China:For example, Yunnan rubing (cheese), crossing-the-bridge rice noodles—these are quite distinctive.

　　Yvon VELOT, Kunming Representative of the French Chamber of Commerce and Industry in China:I also hope that in the future more and more French people will come to China and Chinese people will go to France, continuing this friendship (bridge).

　　Reporter:Building a bridge, and then (China and France) will have more cooperation.

　　Yvon VELOT, Kunming Representative of the French Chamber of Commerce and Industry in China:Yes.