The delegation visits the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Center Stadium. [Photo/WeChat account: lovehrtt]

The Overseas Chinese Media Explores Zhejiang event commenced in Hangzhou, capital of East China's Zhejiang, on March 15.

With participation from 36 overseas Chinese media outlets, the delegation has embarked on a seven-day journey to explore Zhejiang's openness, innovation, and development. They conducted on-site interviews and research visits in Hangzhou, Jiaxing, and Ningbo, focusing on various topics, including Zhejiang's historical and cultural heritage, tourism destinations, technological innovation, and rural vitalization.

On the afternoon of the same day, the delegation visited the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Center Stadium and explored e-commerce enterprises, experiencing the charm of the Hangzhou Asian Games and exploring new opportunities for the e-commerce sector.

Entering the main stadium of the Hangzhou Olympic Expo Center, the unique lotus-shaped design and the venue filled with cutting-edge technology elicited enthusiasm from the media. Located on the underground floor of the stadium, the Hangzhou Asian Games Museum showcased the cultural legacy of the Games, including torches, mascots, and medals from various editions of the event.

The Hangzhou Olympic Expo Center showcased the sporting vitality of Hangzhou, while at Make Friends Holdings Co, journalists witnessed the city's flourishing e-commerce economy. As a well-known e-commerce live-streaming and social media marketing agency, Make Friends has signed contracts with renowned influencers such as Luo Yonghao and boasts nearly 100 senior e-commerce anchors with over 1,000 hours of broadcasting experience.

The growth of Make Friends reflects the rapid development of Hangzhou's e-commerce industry. As an important birthplace of China's e-commerce sector, the city has been at the forefront of e-commerce development since the 1990s. In the past decade, the city's online retail sales have grown annually, reaching 1.05 trillion yuan ($145.8 billion) in 2022, accounting for 38.8 percent of Zhejiang's total online retail sales and ranking first in both total amount and proportion province-wide.

Journalists were impressed by Hangzhou's development and expressed hope that through the coverage of the event, the world will become more familiar with the advanced development of Hangzhou's e-commerce industry, thereby inspiring more live-streaming e-commerce enterprises to expand internationally.

The delegation visits Make Friends Holdings. [Photo/WeChat account: lovehrtt]