Foreign youth honor Chinese 'father of hybrid rice' during a journey to Fujian

Seeing a photo of the country's bank note of rice displayed on the wall of the museum surprised her a lot. "I believe that Chinese hybrid rice will one day cover all of Madagascar's fields," she said.

Having studied Chinese at the Confucius Institute at the University of Antananarivo in Madagascar, she often watched Chinese dramas in her spare time. In 2024, she volunteered as a translator on the Peace Ark at Tamatave Port, which brought her a sense of achievement in fostering China-Madagascar friendship.

Another youth, Yousef Ehab, 21, from Egypt, whose Chinese name is Zheng Lian, grew up near the pyramids, a place bustling with Chinese tourists, and Egyptian Chinese-speaking guides, which sparked his interest in China since childhood.

As his family runs a rice import business in Egypt, he learned Yuan's story long ago. "The scientist not only solved China's food problems but also spread this technology worldwide, benefiting many developing countries, including those in Africa," he said.

In Egypt, Chinese rice technology has been adopted, significantly improving local rice production efficiency and farmers' yields, Zheng said, expressing hopes for strengthening agricultural cooperation between China and Egypt.

China's efforts in Africa extend beyond hybrid rice. The country has established 24 agricultural technology demonstration centers across the continent, promoting over 300 technologies.

Contact the writers at zhangyi1@chinadaily.com.cn