Journalists visit Liuhe town in Taicang. [Wang Zhuangfei / China Daily]

"The more I learn about China, the more I realize I don't know." — Erik Nilsson, China Daily.

He had said these words to me within the first few days of the Discover Jiangsu trip, a part of the Belt and Road Initiative, hosted by China Daily, for which I had come as a delegate and journalist of Bangladesh. Throughout the rest of the trip, this quote proved to be very true for me.

Jiangsu province has surprised me to no end. After landing in Nanjing, the first few glimpses of the provincial capital while going to the hotel were enough to strike me. The development and the uniformity of the architecture were impressive. But then, I didn't know what was coming up, and I wasn't prepared to be as pleasantly surprised as I was.

In Nanjing, located near the lower reaches of the Yangtze River and with a population of 8.2 million, we visited Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications, Suning Commerce Group, Sanpower Hi-tech Co Ltd, the new area in the north of Yangtze River, Nanjing port, all of which displayed the exciting development that Nanjing is now going through.

The Zheng He Heritage Ship Park, which had the relics and replicas of the boats used for Zheng He's historic voyages, showed how history was still thriving.

In Xuzhou, located at the border of four provinces — Henan, Shandong, Jiangsu and Anhui — with a civilization dating back almost 5,000 years, we visited the Economic and Technological Developmental Zone, which showed us their intricate plans to urbanize the city.

We visited the XCMG heavy machinery company, which had gifted road rollers to my country, Bangladesh, in the late 1980s. The group was vast and you could instantly tell that it was just a few steps behind Caterpillar, but with enough resources and strength to soon overtake the US company.

The Han Cultural Tourist Zone was an inspiring journey into history that really helped me understand the traditions and culture of China. The visit to Dragon Lake Park, surrounded with vibrant autumn colors, babbling brooks and a waterfall, was enough to persuade someone to make the city home.

When meeting with the city officials, I had even asked if they would increase tourism because Xuzhou is not something one can just know about. It is something one has to experience and feel.

The excellent blend of urban and rural is evident in the high-rise buildings with a border of vast forest-covered mountains and hidden little huts and cottages.