A new exhibition marking the 50th anniversary of the Tanzania-Zambia Railway (TAZARA) opened Wednesday at Tanzania's National Museum in Dar es Salaam, spotlighting the historic China-Africa partnership through evocative visual art.
Titled "Shoulder to Shoulder," the showcase features photographs and paintings that celebrate one of Africa's most ambitious infrastructure projects and the enduring friendship between Tanzania and China.
"TAZARA, which was built with China's aid last century by Chinese, Tanzanian, and Zambian people together, is known to the world as the 'Freedom Railway' or 'Uhuru Railway' that helped southeast African people gain national independence and liberation. And it is also [known as] the 'Friendship Railway' or 'Urafiki Railway' that represents the everlasting friendship between the Chinese and African people," said Chen Mingjian, Chinese Ambassador to Tanzania.
Among the estimated 60,000 young Tanzanians who joined forces with some 50,000 Chinese workers to build the railway in the early 1970s was Martin Simingwa, now retired, who fondly recalled his time collaborating with the Chinese teams.
"Even though we did not understand each other's language, we communicated through signs and actions, and we worked together very well. When the Chinese trust you, they truly trust you," he said.
This is the latest in a series of exhibitions held since 2017 in Tanzania and Zambia, each highlighting the people and collective effort behind the construction of the TAZARA railway.
For Tanzania and China, the exhibition represents more than art, it is a celebration of the strong relationship between the two countries and their shared aspirations.
Tanzania unveils exhibition marking 50 years of TAZARA, China-Africa friendship
The Chinese Embassy in South Africa on Monday held an event in Pretoria, the country's administrative capital, to celebrate the launch of the 2026 China-Africa Year of People-to-People Exchanges.
This year also marks the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and African countries.
Chinese Ambassador to South Africa Wu Peng said that over the past seven decades, under the joint guidance of leaders from both sides, China-Africa people-to-people and cultural exchanges have continued to expand, yielding fruitful outcomes.
Noting that the world is undergoing profound changes unseen in a century, Wu said China and Africa need to uphold fairness and justice, strengthen solidarity and mutual assistance, and enhance exchanges and cooperation more than ever before.
Taking the launch of the China-Africa Year of People-to-people Exchanges as an opportunity, Wu called for upholding the original aspiration of friendship, solidifying the foundation of cooperation, enhancing two-way efforts, and accelerating the building of an all-weather China-Africa community with a shared future for the new era.
Mmapaseka Steve Letsike, South Africa's deputy minister of women, youth, and persons with disabilities, said South Africa and China enjoy strong and historic bonds of friendship as close international cooperation partners in the political, economic, social, technical and multilateral domains.
"The significance of people-to-people is really about how we elevate the people's life to a just and equitable stance that we want to see. We want a better Africa; we want a better world. And that for us is significant," said Letsike.
"Through people-to-people exchanges, we promote mutual understanding, and that is the basis of building mutual trust, building peaceful coexistence. People-to-people exchange is a very important instrument for peace and mutual understanding," said Bongani Maimele, director of international relations with South Africa's National School of Government.
The opening ceremony of the 2026 China-Africa Year of People-to-People Exchanges was held at the African Union headquarters on Jan 8. According to the Chinese Foreign Ministry, the two sides will jointly host nearly 600 cultural and people-to-people exchange activities in 2026 to enhance exchanges and mutual learning between the two civilizations, and promote mutual understanding and connection between the peoples.
Organizing the 2026 China-Africa Year of People-to-People Exchanges is an important consensus reached by leaders from both sides at the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation Beijing Summit in 2024.
Chinese Embassy in South Africa unveils 2026 China-Africa Year of People-to-People Exchanges
