s not right to call it a ‘village’， because its infrastructure， service， entertainmentfacilities and living standards are better than those in manycities. Huaxi Village in Ningxia was a model on East-West cooperation26 0 set up by the government to narrow the gap， to develop Huaxi Villagein Ningxia with the help of Huaxi Village in Jiangsu. Han Guocai， thedirector of the village committee， thought it a good way to reduce povertyin Ningxia.
“I went to some farmers’ homes， where I saw a dream situation.
The village had encouraged people to develop a non-agriculturaleconomy， so the villagers had started businesses with building materials，for instance， and were making a considerable income. Their livingconditions had also improved.” Hussein says the head of the villagealso supported this kind of direct poverty-relief plan between the twovillages， and this proved to be more effective than the poverty-reliefplans laid out by the government. “The important thing is it eliminatespoverty from people’s minds，” he says.
In Taqiao Village， in the suburbs of Yinchuan， capital of Ningxia，Hussein saw with his own eyes that this village， located within themost impoverished area in China， had become a model of commonwealth. The furniture and electronic appliances in the villagers’ homeswere on par with those in posh hotels. Taqiao Village was a success，thanks to its emphasis on education， and assistance from the IslamicDevelopment Bank.
“I was very impressed by the spirit of the people in Ningxia. Pooras they were， they were resilient， and confident，” he says.
“This is why Ningxia touched me. Probably because there areMuslims here， I feel that I have melted into this piece of land，” he declares.
While in Ningxia， he was awestruck to find as many as 6，00minarets in 3，000 mosques， and saw that the two million Muslimsthere took true pride in their faith. Hussein learned from conversationswith some elderly Muslims that China was now facing the same problemas many other countries： the loss of cultural and ethical valuesbrought about by a rise in materialism.
After returning to Beijing， Hussein wrote two articles. One was Achievements， Dreams and Problems — the 40th Anniversary of theFounding of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region， which told about theachievements Ningxia had made in the past 40 years， its hopes for thefuture and the problems it is faced with. The other article was China’sMuslim Headwear and Minaret， about the lives and beliefs of Muslimsin Ningxia.
Hussein says， “I found the answers to all my questions in Ningxia，including ‘Where did their strong will come from?’ After the articles were published， the heads of CIPG informedhim that the articles had won the “Outstanding News” prize for the40th anniversary of the founding of Ningxia.
“The regional government issued me a certificate，” he says. “Asif led by a dream， I visited Ningxia again in 2000. In 1999， Hussein was awarded the “Friendship Medal” by theChinese government to commemorate his work in China.
Self-Described Ambassador to China and Egypt“What I am doing now is to promoting understanding and exchangebetween China and Egypt. I treasure every opportunity forcommunication between the two countries，” says Hussein earnestly.
He once read a story in the Egyptian newspaper Pyramid， whichsaid that in any given place in any Arab country， when a man and awoman met， there was always a third party at the scene. This thirdparty was … a Chinese commodity. Either the man or the womanwould possess something made in China. Chinese goods have becomea necessary part of an Arab’s daily life.
Hussein was curious to know the truth behind some Arab mediareports that China was dumping its goods in Arab countries， and thatthe Chinese working in these countries were threatening local employment.
To promote understanding and communication between China262 and Arab countries， Hussein and his colleagues quickly planned a seriesof titles around this topic. They wanted to express that all of mankindhad common， beautiful dreams it pursued， and that the Chinesegoing to Arab countries or the Arabs coming to China all wanted tomake their dreams come true.
Hussein made a special visit to Yiwu， a small commodities productionbase in southern China’s Zhejiang Province. He interviewedthe Arab businessmen there， and had heart-to-heart conversations withthem. Back in Beijing， he and his colleagues wrote a series of stories，with the title： The New Silk Road Where Dreams come True.
The articles first quoted the Arab media reports about largeamounts of Chinese commodities flooding the market. Instead of criticizingthese reports， the articles told of the experiences Arab businessmenhad had in China， the help and care they had received from theChinese government， and the win-win situation inherent in the economicexchange between the two regions. The articles also explainedthat small trade business was the foundation stone for big investmentprojects. The stories also frankly pointed out the problems and flawsexisting in Chinese commodities. At the same time， it emphasized thateconomic exchange and trade between the two regions were promotingmutual and harmonious development.
When the article was published， the magazine received a largeamount of feedback from the readers and attention from the Arab media.
The readers spoke highly of these stories， even calling from Yemen，Egypt， Syria and Iraq to express their love for China and concernfor the Arabic people in China.
The New Silk Road Where Dreams come True won the CIPG’s“Oustanding Article” prize in 2006.
Hussein often describes himself as “the ambassador of Egypt toChina and the ambassador of China to Egypt”。
“When I write articles about China， I feel that I’m more than a Chinese; and when I write something about Egypt， I feel I’m morethan an Egyptian，” he states.
“I treasure every opportunity to establish communication betweenthe two countries，” he says.
