Marius Musa Kargbo, AYV News, September 11, 2025
China is a fascinating land of stories in every nook. Its great strength is its capacity to keep culture alive while welcoming innovation and progress. It was also a rare treat for me to have a glimpse of such harmony during my recent trip to Taiyuan, the capital of Shanxi Province, and neighboring PingyaoAncient City.
Traveling from ancient temples and markets to modern factories, farms, aquaculture facilities, the trip was educational and professional not just cultural. It had deep lessons for Sierra Leone, particularly in governance, agriculture, health, tourism and national identity.
Taiyuan Ancient City Market — Culture Breathing in Commerce
In Taiyuan’s old city market I discovered a spot where history lives on in everyday life. Stalls showcased traditional crafts, calligraphy and Shanxi delicacies, and offered payment through mobile payment systems such as WeChat Pay and Alipay.
I was most struck by the ease with which tradition and technology were folded into each other. The bustling marketplaces of Sierra Leone came to mind, but with a more urgent structure for cultural preservation. If Sierra Leone commits to the modernization of our market systems, and in showcasing cultural identity, then our markets can become tourist and cultural centers.
Confucius Temple – Haven of Wisdom
It was impressive to visit the Confucius Temple at Taiyuan. The quiet courtyards of the temple, its inscriptions and statues told stories of values such as respect, discipline, humility, and knowledge.
As a teacher, I really resonated with the message. There is much that Sierra Leone’s schools and universities can learn from this philosophy. Education must be not an act of transferring information, but of passing values, to create responsible citizens and ethical leaders.
Pingyao Old Town – Traveling Through the Thousand Years
Any trip to Shanxi wouldn’t be complete without PingyaoAncient City, a UNESCO World Heritage site and one of China’s best-preserved ancient walled towns. Walking through its gates was like traveling back in time to the Ming and Qing Dynasties. The cobblestone streets, the old courtyards, the historic shops, all made to see and feel the past appear before my eyes.
Pingyao used to be China’s financial capital, with some of the country’s first banks and money transfer systems. “This was eye-opening to study. It revealed the extent to which financial innovation is always bound with cultural history. For Sierra Leone, where financial inclusion is such a challenge, the Pingyao model is a reminder that tradition can pave the way for contemporary economic institutions.
Pharmaceutical Cultivation High-Tech Science in the Service of Tradition
At the factory, a traditional medicine maker showed me how China is mass-producing herbal techniques handed down for generations. Herbs were processed by modern machines into capsules, teas and oils and ready for global markets.
For Sierra Leone, it was a study in possibility. Our history of green medicine is highly informal. With research, regulation and investment we have the chance to turn this knowledge into industries that strengthen healthcare, generate jobs and represent our heritage on the global stage.
The Chinese Tea ‘Factory’ – A Cup of Heritage
I witnessed this in the Chinese tea factory; I saw that tea is not a drink the way we think of it but a way of life. The tea was also carefully produced sort by hand, dry, package but the cultural tradition of drinking tea was the focus.
Tea is the drink that brings us together, that links people, cultures and generations. With Sierra Leone’s own traditional tea and herbal culture, we could develop such an industry that connects culture and commerce, and promotes our teas as not only healthy, but distinctively ours.
Mechanized Farming – Feeding The World With Technology
One of the most memorable stops was at a mechanized agricultural farm in Taiyuan. Mechanized irrigation process, photosynthesis and intelligent monitoring that increase productivity and preserve resources.
Sierra Leone has huge amounts of fertile land but depends mainly on manual farming. The introduction of appropriate, mechanized solutions has the power to revolutionize our systems, reduce hunger and turn Agriculture into a driver of economic progress.
Aquaculture and Fish Production: Sustainable Protein for the Future
So I visited an aquaculture fish production facility to see how China is engaging precision farming in an effort to address food security. Fish were farmed in controlled conditions to make it efficient, high-quality, and sustainable.
This is especially pertinent for Sierra Leone. Our rich marine resources would be used more sustainably, wild fisheries would face less pressure, nutrition would benefit, and thousands of young people would be able to earn a living.
Lessons for Sierra Leone—Walking the Tightrope between the Past and the Future
The combined experiences of Taiyuan and Pingyao was a complete masterclass on development. The Old Market, Confucius Temple and the City itself showed how history and virtues underpin the identity. The plants where medicines and teas are produced illustrate how tradition is globalized. The farms and aquaculture operations showed how technology is the future.
The underlying message: real progress is not found in forsaking tradition, but in hybridizing it with innovation. The lessons, for Sierra Leone, are immediate and tangible:
Revolutionize Agriculture through mechanization and irrigation.
Take Traditional and Indian Herbal Medicine to masses in form of hygienic and world class quality branded OTC products.
Boost Tourism by conserving and branding cultural traditions such as markets and festivals.
Introduce Aquaculture to increase food security and employment.
Education should instill values into the student.
Stimulate Indigenous Financial Impulse That is in sync with our own Societal and Historical Factuality.
In essence, my trip through Taiyuan and Pingyao was a potent reminder that culture and innovation are not adversaries, they are allies in national development. China is proving that history can coexist comfortably with modernity, and that ancient customs can be repurposed as global industries.
For Sierra Leone, if faced with a challenge, it is also an opportunity: to adopt new ways without throwing off old ones. Whether that be trough mecanised farms, aquaculture, cultural tourism, or traditional medicine industries, we to can take a path that respects our past whilst thinking of the future.
Looking out at the ancient streets of Pingyao and the futuristic farms of Taiyuan, I realised that Sierra Leone can be the same if we decide to make it so.
