"Beijing Road" in Algiers tells China-Algeria stories

There is a street, called "Beijing Road" in downtown Algiers, which zigzags uphill about one kilometer, linking the presidential office at one end, and the city's bustling commercial district at the other.

Many old locals are familiar with the "China story" on the road, and there are always visitors coming from distant China to pay a visit to this road and have a photo with it.

Walking in a sunny October day along the road to trace its history and Chinese element, you will meet a lot of local residents greeting you naturally with Chinese "ni hao", equivalent to "hello" in English.

In a coffee bar on the road, an old man in his 70s, who grew up there, was very delighted when he saw Chinese visitors.

He put his index fingers together, a gesture meaning that Algeria and China are "good brothers."

Expressing thanks for China's support in Algeria's efforts to fight for independence, the Algerian government named the street as "Beijing Road" in December 1963 when late Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai visited the country, the old man said.

He recalled that hundreds of thousands of people, at that time, stood along both sides of the road to welcome Zhou and cheering people crowded the road-naming ceremony.

In 1963, the first medical aid team that China sent overseas arrived in Algeria. Algeria was one of the two co-sponsors (the other is Albania) for the People's Republic of China to resume its legitimate seat in the United Nations In 1971.

Near the old man's coffee bar, a popular Chinese children's song was heard, coming from a toy rocking car in front of a children's dress shop.

The owner of the shop told Xinhua that the toy car was bought from China and is used to attract customers.

He pointed to a nearby mobile phone shop run by his brother, who imports mobile phones from China.

The dress shop owner said that he and his brother travel to China together several times each year, and cities in China, like Shanghai and Guangzhou, are big and beautiful.

His father also drives a small Chinese-manufactured truck and runs a transport business, he added.

On the "Beijing Road," Chinese traces could be seen everywhere. Garments in shops, shoes, hats, suitcases and bags, are all made in China.

Currently, China has been Algeria's largest source of import and bilateral trade volume has increased by 10 times over the past decade.

Meanwhile, Algeria has become one of the top markets for China's overseas construction contractors. Hundreds of Chinese companies are undertaking various construction projects in the country, including highways, mosques, international convention and exhibition centers, hospitals as well as hundreds of thousands of residential housing units.

China has become the world's second largest economy and China's development will also benefit Algeria and the Algerian people. The mutual benefit and win-win cooperation in the new era will surely inject new impetus and contents into the traditional bilateral friendship.