A group of 20 Russian journalists from 12 large news organizations has begun a month-long trek through China to study the country's development and the lives of the people.

The reporters, who are traveling with 20 Chinese journalists, have already started probing issues such as enforcement of the country's one-child policy and the outward signs of the country's "westernization".

In an interview with Zhang Dawei, vice governor of Henan Province, Khasan Kagermanov of "Rural Life" magazine asked about the evolving nature of rural cooperatives, and Zhang explained the "responsibility system" linking income with production.

Anatoly Shiryaev, of the Interfax new agency, wanted to know what efforts were being made to preserve traditional architecture and customs as the country modernized.

The journey is one of the official activities of the Year of China in Russia, which follows last year's Year of Russia in China, to mark the friendship between two countries and peoples. The road trip will cover 8,600 kilometers through 15 provinces, municipalities and ethnic autonomous regions.

Last year, 40 Chinese and Russian journalists traveled 16,000 kilometers from Beijing's Tiananmen Square to Moscow's Red Square in about 45 days.

Source: Xinhua