HOLDING a mobile phone in his hands, Rhio Zablan from the Filipino Service of Asia and Africa Center of China Media Group finished a livestream at Shenzhen Bay Park yesterday, the second day of an ASEAN media tour to Shenzhen, where he introduced Shenzhen Bay Bridge and shared his visit in Shenzhen with his audience.

Tran Ngoc Chi from Vietnam Television shoots videos at the Meituan Big Data Center in Longhua District yesterday.

Zablan is joining a media delegation composed of about a dozen reporters from domestic and ASEAN countries’ media outlets to explore the city’s achievements in digital transformation and building a smart city.

They embarked on the four-day ASEAN Media’s View on China Media Tour in Shenzhen on Monday.

The reporters visited WeBank, China’s first digital bank, Monday afternoon and Huawei, a leading global provider of information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure and smart devices, yesterday.

They are scheduled to visit China Ping An, a world-leading technology-powered retail financial services group, as well as Guangming District and the Belt and Road Research Institute (Shenzhen) for International Cooperation and Development (BRRI) during the tour that will wrap up Thursday.

“For me, what is truly worth noting on Shenzhen’s digital transformation is the government support for private companies. Because of this, many innovative institutions have come to Shenzhen and established their businesses. Second is the willingness of the youth to achieve their dreams. Because of this, coupled with innovative companies and government support, Shenzhen has attained its status as the digital economic center of China,” Zablan said, adding that he wants to bring valuable insights on Shenzhen’s digital transformation back to his home country.

Most of the media representatives visited Shenzhen for the first time. Chau Thai Binh and Tran Ngoc Chi from Vietnam Television (VTV) said that on the one hand, the city is beautiful and full of technologies, and on the other, it is young and new.

“I felt the people here (Shenzhen) are open and inclusive, which is also a very distinctive characteristic of the city. They treat you like themselves. Frequent business cooperation also helps enhance interaction between people in the city,” said Zablan, who is also a first-time Shenzhen visitor.

“I ate shaomai (also known as shumai, a kind of traditional Chinese dumpling) for breakfast yesterday morning and posted pictures of the delicious food on social media to share with my friends. I know that cultural exchange is one of the most effective ways to enhance cooperation between countries,” Zablan said.

In addition to digital transformation and smart city, reporter Chen Guanyin from Cambodia’s Khmer Daily also noticed Shenzhen’s booming night economy and vibrant nighttime activities.

The media tour event, hosted by China Daily and the ASEAN-China Center and organized by the China Daily Website and the Cyberspace Administration of Shenzhen, spotlights digital economy ties and a new chapter in smart city construction.