Cultural officials from African countries spoke highly of China's national cultural information resources sharing project after they visited the project headquarters and pilot programs on Monday.

The cultural information resources sharing project "sets a very good example", as Zambia is planning to build a similar nationwide network to provide necessary cultural information and resources to rural areas, said Musamba Weseley Kaonga, acting director of the Culture Department of Zambian Community Development and Social Services Ministry.

Kaonga said the project of China showed an entire structure of the network, from content to technology, which were very helpful to Zambia.

The cultural information resources sharing project, jointly initiated by the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Finance in 2002, digitalizes Chinese cultural resources and has the resources shared nationwide via Internet, satellite transmission and discs.

As a member of the 2007 African Cultural Visitors Program, Kaonga and 16 other cultural officials or managing directors of cultural institutes from 11 African countries visited the headquarters of the China project based in the National Library and a pilot project in the Beilangzhong village in suburban Beijing on Monday.

Besides Beijing, they will also go to Shenzhen in southern Guangdong Province and the northwestern province of Gansu to visit cultural institutes, watch performances, investigate development of cultural industries and to see how local cultural heritages are protected. The 2007 program runs from Oct. 12 to 25.

The African Cultural Visitors Program, initially set up by Ministry of Culture in 2006, is a long-term program on cultural cooperation and personnel exchange between China and African countries. It was included in the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) Beijing Action Plan (2007-2009).
 
(Xinhua News Agency October 16, 2007)