万里为邻

初冬时节的长沙，季节如同调色板一般，将山染上缤纷颜色。

In early winter in Changsha, the season is like a palette, painting the mountains in a riot of colors.

开福区沙坪街道，沿x307车道向北行驶，穿过一片五彩的树林，湘绣之乡深处，欢快的非洲鼓点声不时响起。

In Shaping Street, Kaifu District, as you drive north along the X307 road and pass through a colorful forest, in the depths of the hometown of Hunan embroidery, there is a park where you can hear the cheerful beats of African drums from time to time.

“到家啦！”11月20日，一个黑人小伙熟练地来到这里，和周围的村民打起了招呼。

"Here we are!" On November 20th, a young African arrived here with ease and greeted the villagers around him.

这里是全国首家以非洲风情为特色的农庄——河村非洲文化园，也是乌干达小伙维克多在长沙的家。

This is the HeCunAfrican Cultural Park, the first farm in the country featuring African customs. It is also the home of Victor, a young man from Uganda, in Changsha.

万里之外的乌干达，长沙伢子王森波说起创办文化园的趣事时仍不免感叹：“2017年刚创办文化园，周围村民对这些黑皮肤的外国人感到稀奇和害怕。”7年过去，如今村民们早已喜欢上了这些非洲面孔。

In Uganda, thousands of miles away from China, Wang Senbo, a native of Changsha, still couldn't help sighing when talking about the interesting stories of founding the park: "When the park was founded in 2017, the local villagers were not accustomed to seeing people from Africa." Seven years later, the villagers have now grown fond of these African people.

相隔万里，缘起千年。长期以来，长沙与非洲城交流、心相通，在经贸、人文等领域“双向奔赴”，共同描绘“中非命运共同体”的美好前景。

Although thousands of miles apart, Changsha and Africa have been bonded for centuries. For a long time, Changsha and African cities have been communicating with each other wholeheartedly and making progress together in the fields of economy, trade, and culture, jointly painting a bright future for the China-Africa Community with a Shared Future.

非洲故事长沙“安家”

African Stories "Taking Root" in Changsha

栩栩如生的动物雕塑、古老神秘的壁画、热情奔放的舞蹈……河村非洲文化园仿佛一扇任意门，踏进园区，便从活力喧嚣的长沙“穿越”到充满遐想的非洲。

Lifelike animal sculptures, ancient and mysterious murals, passionate and lively dances... The HeCun African Cultural Park is like a magic door. Once you step into the park, it seems that you "travel" from the vibrant and bustling Changsha to the imaginative Africa.

2005年，王森波前赴非洲开拓事业，十余年的非洲情缘让他对这片神秘的大陆有始终割舍不下的情感。

In 2005, Wang Senbo went to Africa to expand his career. More than ten years of his emotional bond with Africa made him always have an inseparable affection for this mysterious continent.

为了让家乡人民足不出户就能感受到原汁原味的非洲风情，也为了让两地有更深的相互了解，2017年，王森波创办非洲园。2018年7月开园以来，已先后有来自乌干达、埃塞俄比亚、肯尼亚等国家的50余名艺术家来到文化园。

In order to enable the people in his hometown to experience the authentic African customs without leaving Changsha and to deepen the mutual understanding between the two places, Wang Senbo founded the park in 2017. Since its opening in July 2018, more than 50 artists from countries such as Uganda, Ethiopia, and Kenya have come to the park one after another.

漫步园区，除了能看到酋长宫民宿、火烈鸟露营基地、曼德拉球场、中非友谊馆、非洲雕塑园等满是非洲气息的场馆，你还能看到非洲艺术家留下的各类作品，或是酋长椅，或是“非式”茅草屋，或是充满非洲特色的雕塑和油画，仿佛置身非洲艺术展览。

Walking in the park, apart from venues full of African flavor like the Chief's Palace Homestay, the Flamingo Camping Base, the Mandela Stadium, the China-Africa Friendship Hall, and the African Sculpture Garden, you can also see various works created by African artists, such as chief chairs, "African-style" thatched cottages, or sculptures and oil paintings with strong African characteristics, as if you were in an African art exhibition.

“他们各有各的绝活。”王森波说起来非洲艺术家的拿手本事时滔滔不绝，“汤姆是木艺高手；迈克和弗朗西斯擅长铁艺；维克多的中文歌唱得非常好，他是乌干达中文歌唱比赛的第一名！”

"They each have their own unique skills," Wang Senbo said enthusiastically when talking about the specialties of African artists. "Tom is a master of wood art; Mike and Francis are proficient in iron art; Victor sings Chinese songs very well. He won the first prize in the Chinese Singing Competition in Uganda!"

“甜蜜蜜，你笑得甜蜜蜜，好像花儿开在春风里……”冬日暖阳里，一场热闹又欢快的歌舞表演正在上演，维克多带着游客一同唱响中文歌曲，“没想到黑人小哥哥的中文歌曲，能唱得这么字正腔圆！”游客不时发出赞叹。

"Honey sweet, your smile is honey sweet, like a flower blooming in the spring breeze..." Under the warm winter sun, a lively and joyful song and dance performance is in progress. Victor led the tourists to sing Chinese songs together. "I didn't expect that this young African could sing Chinese songs so clearly and accurately!" The tourists couldn't help exclaiming from time to time.

几首中文歌结束，维克多和另一位乌干达艺术家爱德华打起了非洲鼓，游客随着热情的鼓点声纷纷起舞，歌舞与鼓声节奏交织，黄皮肤和黑皮肤碰撞出友谊的火花。

After singing several Chinese songs, Victor and another Ugandan artist, Edward, start playing African drums. The tourists dance to the passionate drumbeats. The rhythms of the songs, dances, and drums intertwine, and the interaction between the two cultures sparks vivid energy.

惟以心相交，方成其久远。半年时间，维克多早已和艺术园的同事及周边村民处成了朋友，“这里的人非常友好，他们对我照顾有加。”前不久回乌干达探亲时，维克多一直和亲友说起这个长沙的家，“很庆幸第一次来中国，就来到一个有非洲元素的地方，家人都说，以后也要来长沙、来文化园看看。”

Only through heartfelt connections can lasting bonds be formed. In half a year, Victor has already become friends with his colleagues in the park and the surrounding villagers. "The people here are very friendly, and they take good care of me." Not long ago, when he returned to Uganda to visit his relatives, Victor kept talking to his relatives and friends about his home in Changsha. "I'm so lucky that when I first came to China, I came to a place with African elements. My family said that they would also come to Changsha and visit the park."

维克多说，他原本计划在河村非洲文化园停留半年，现在他已经把这个时间延长到了一年，“这里是一个很像家的地方。”他的想法，和文化园水库边堤岸上用石头垒成的文字雕塑作品《They call it Afcica，we call it home》(他们称之为非洲，我们称之为家)不谋而合。

Victor said that he originally planned to stay at the park for half a year, but now he has extended this period to one year. "This is a place that feels just like home." His idea coincides with the stone sculpture on the embankment by the reservoir in the park, which is titled "They call it Africa, we call it home".

架起文化交融之桥

Building a Bridge for Cultural Integration

“这些画不仅讲述了非洲故事，还能从中看到湖南元素。”中非友谊馆里，河村非洲文化园执行总经理伍丹丹正给前来参观的游客介绍非洲艺术家的作品。

"These paintings not only tell African stories but also display elements of Hunan." In the China-Africa Friendship Hall, Wu Dandan, the executive general manager of the HeCun African Cultural Park, introduces the works of African artists to the visitors.

随着非洲艺术家对长沙、对中国的了解逐步加深，他们在传播非洲文化的同时，也对中华文化、湖湘文化产生了兴趣。“我们这里之前有一幅雄狮头部的特写画，是非洲艺术家画的，画里，狮子的鬃毛被细细的笔触一一描绘，这其中就有水墨画、湘绣等表现形式。”伍丹丹说。

As African artists have gradually deepened their understanding of Changsha and China, while spreading African culture, they have also become interested in Chinese culture and Hunan culture. "We had a close-up painting of a lion's head here before. It was painted by an African artist. In the painting, the lion's mane was depicted stroke by stroke with fine brushstrokes, which incorporated the expression forms of Chinese ink painting and Hunan embroidery," Wu Dandan said.

2019年，来自乌干达的舞蹈艺术家达琳在文化园学习了茶艺，从茶器的准备到泡茶的步骤，再到品茶，整套流程她已信手拈来；而达芬则更喜欢湘绣，她曾前往湖南省沙坪湘绣博物馆学习。

In 2019, Darlin, a dance artist from Uganda, learned the art of tea in the park. From preparing tea utensils to making tea and then to tasting tea, she has mastered the whole process with ease. And Daphine has a preference for Hunan embroidery. She once went to the Shaping Embroidery Museum of Hunan Province to study.

万里之外，文化交融的果实也已瓜熟蒂落。结束在文化园的工作后，乌干达艺术家布莱恩回国打造了一个艺术公园，中国元素在这里随处可见。

In distant Africa, the fruits of this fusion have ripened as well. After finishing his work in the park, artist Brian returned to Uganda and created an art park where Chinese elements are ubiquitous.

“非洲艺术家和湖南本土的艺术家在河村非洲文化园进行交流，他们把中国的文化艺术带回非洲，促进湖湘文化与非洲文化的交融和彼此借鉴。”王森波说，园区的建设初衷，就是为进一步扩大和加深中非文化交流，真正架起中非之间友谊、文化的桥梁。

"African artists and local artists in Hunan communicate with each other in the park. They bring Chinese culture back to Africa, promoting the integration and mutual learning between Hunan culture and African culture," Wang Senbo said that the original intention of building the park was to further expand and deepen China-Africa cultural exchanges and truly build a bridge of friendship and culture between China and Africa.

谱写“非长”友谊篇章

Composing the Chapter of "Changsha-Africa" Friendship

志合者，不以山海为远。

The distancecan’t separate people with shared aspirations.

约1200年前，“黑石号”搭载着铜官窑生产的瓷器远销北非等地，留下了长沙与非洲往来的早期印记。如今，长沙已经成为国内对非合作最为活跃的城市之一：

About 1,200 years ago, the "Batu Hitam" carried the porcelain produced by the Tongguan Kiln and exported it to North Africa and other places, leaving early imprints of exchanges between Changsha and Africa. Now, Changsha has become one of the most active cities in China in terms of cooperation with Africa:

1982年，长沙与刚果（布）首都布拉柴维尔结好，成为中非第一对正式缔约的友好城市；

In 1982, Changsha established a friendship with Brazzaville, the capital of the Republic of the Congo, becoming the first pair of officially bonded friendly cities between China and Africa.

2019年起，两年一届的中非经贸博览会长期落户湖南长沙；

Since 2019, the China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo (CAETE) has been held biennially in Changsha, Hunan Province, China.

2020年9月，湖南自贸试验区扬帆启航，在全国21个自贸试验区中，其是唯一定位为中非经贸深度合作先行区的改革创新试验田，而践行这一使命的核心区就是长沙片区;

In September 2020, the China (Hunan) Pilot Free Trade Zone was launched. Among the 21 free trade zones across China, it is the only one designated as a pioneering experimental zone for deepening economic and trade cooperation between China and Africa. Moreover, the core area for fulfilling this mission is the Changsha area.

2023年，长沙对非进出口额超200亿元；

In 2023, the volume of Changsha's imports and exports to Africa exceeded 20 billion yuan.

“非长”之间，关于友谊的故事千千万万，而故事的主角，正是人民。

There are countless stories aboutfriendship between Changsha and Africa, and the protagonists of these stories are people.

“朋友一生一起走，那些日子不再有，一句话一辈子，一生情一杯酒……”河村非洲文化园内，维克多在采访结束时唱了一首意义非凡的《朋友》。他说：“这首歌正是我在中国最深切的感受。”

"Friends accompany each other all our lives, those happy days will never return. A promise for a lifetime, a friend willing to toast to me... " At the end of the interview, Victor sang a meaningful song "Friends"in the HecunAfrican Cultural Park. "This song exactly reflects my deepest feeling in China, "he said.

此刻，非洲与长沙不再是地理意义上的遥远，而是心与心相通、情与情相融的真实写照。

At this moment, Africa and Changsha are no longer distant geographically. Instead, they represent a true portrayal of connected hearts and blended feelings.

“未来，我们将继续做好中非之间的民心工程，共同讲好互助、温情、鼓舞人心的中非故事。”王森波说。

"In the future, we will continue to contribute our effortstothe projects of people-to-people exchanges between China and Africa, and jointly tell good China-Africa stories that are helpful, warm, and inspiring," Wang Senbo said.

湘江潮涌，蓝海奔腾。跨越万里的双向奔赴，让“非长”之间拥有了许多美好的相遇。“非长”合作的舞台，注定东风浩荡。

The surging Xiang River and the vast sea will be witnesses. The two-way pursuit across thousands ofmiles has enabled many beautiful encounters between Changsha and Africa. The "Africa-Changsha" cooperationis destined to sail with the wind.