This year, the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, the Italian "Belt and Road" Institute (Istituto Italiano OBOR) and the Italian publishing house "Discover People/ Places" jointly organized the "Telling City Stories" essay contest, which aims to showcase the characteristics of Chinese cities through telling city stories and promote cultural exchanges and people-to-people contacts between China and Italy.

Recommended by Nanjing Foreign Affairs Office, the article "Sparkling on Belt and Road, Developing Urban Diplomacy -- Tales of Friendship between Nanjing and Florence" vividly and elegantly tells the history of interactions, the cooperation in fighting COVID-19 and other exciting activities held by Nanjing and her sister-city Florence, fully demonstrating the charm of the ancient city of Nanjing and the long history of Sino-Italian friendship. The article stood out in several rounds of selection, and was published on the official website of "Discover People/Places" in Italy, attracting widespread attention.

The Italian "Belt and Road" Institute (Istituto Italiano OBOR) presented Nanjing with a certificate of honour, thanking Nanjing for her active contributions to strengthening friendship between Italy and China.

Founded in 2016, the Italian website "Discover People/ Places" has published more than 20,000 articles and 30,000 photos, with readers across Europe, the United States, Canada and Australia. The essay contest attracted 31 participants from 12 Chinese cities and more than 100 participants from 104 Italian cities. By telling the stories of Chinese and Italian cities from multiple perspectives, the mutual understanding between Chinese and Italian people was enhanced.