Pudong New Area, Shanghai. [Photo/VCG]

Vladimir Norov, an Uzbekistan native, officially took office as Secretary General of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization on January 1, 2019 and finished his term on December 31, 2021. He considered the three years of holding the post to be kind of "lucky" for he was enabled to get close to China, an ancient civilization, and at the same time witnessed the Shanghai Cooperation Organization's growth in its international prestige and influence.

LIU XIAN: What was your impression when you first came to China? Do you get used to living in China?

VLADIMIR NOROV: I first came to China, in October 2011, as a member of Uzbek delegation participating in the regular meeting of the Uzbek-Chinese Intergovernmental Commission on Cooperation in Beijing.

My first impression was that the Chinese capital amazingly combines the rhythm of modern and active life, rich ancient culture and history. All architectural styles and eras have found their place in Beijing — skyscrapers piercing the clouds and brightly illuminated next to picturesque and authentic medieval hutongs.

It is striking that modern Beijing features not only futuristic designs of business centers, but also all kinds of ancient sanctuaries: the Temple of the Earth, the Temple of Heaven, the Temple of the Sun, the Temple of Yunhe, the Temple of Confucius, the Temple of the Great Bell, the UNESCO World Heritage Site Gugong or Forbidden City ...

Before leaving for China, we were frightened by the allegation that Beijing was a polluted city and dangerous to health.

In this regard, I can firmly say that Beijing is one of the most environmentally friendly cities in the world.

Over the past almost three years of our stay in China, my wife and I have visited more than 18 cities and provinces. One thing is striking that all cities and provinces are highly developed by the standards of cities in Western states and surpass many of them in terms of the development of transport infrastructure. Almost all the cities we visited have a rich cultural and historical heritage.

On the Russian CGTN television channel, we watched two TV series with great pleasure. They are the 43-episode series Everything is Fine and the 36-episode series Chinese Relations. We liked both series very much and through them we learned more and more about the modern life of the Chinese, the relationships between family members, and the lives of young people.