This is what Zhang Fang, Professor of Agronomy at Zhejiang University, experienced in August 2016, during his trip to East Africa, which the 63-year-old says is one of the most impressive journeys in which he took part. "Thanks to this trip, I had the opportunity to observe many wild animals, discover picturesque landscapes that are unique to Africa, and take part in interactive activities with local residents. It was memorable and wonderful!"

He owes this extraordinary experience to Bobuafrica, a Chinese social-network platform enabling travelers to discover the continent. To take full advantage of his trip, before departure, Zhang talked several times with Bobuafrica employees, who know the destinations inside out, provided detailed advice and arranged a customized itinerary for him. Then, in the company of an experienced Bobuafrica guide, he embarked with 12 other travel enthusiasts like him on an exceptional 16-day adventure. "What attracted me the most in Bobuafrica was its rich and inspiring information, its personalized routes and powerful tracking services," Zhang told ChinAfrica.

Created in 2014, Bobuafrica aims at telling the Africa story by offering engaging journeys and selling unique products, enabling Chinese tourists to enjoy a multidimensional experience of the continent's culture and charm, explains co-founder Shi Yingying.

An African story

Prior to being dispatched to the Xinhua Africa Regional Office in 2010, to deal with the agency's marketing business in Sub-Saharan Africa, Shi had never set foot in Africa. She confesses that her impression of the continent prior to coming was very different from the real Africa she encountered there.

"One can only discover the real beauty of Africa, which is like a girl hidden under a veil, after having set foot on her land, visited her villages lit up with oil lamps, walked in Kigali's business district in Rwanda, and dug up from the ground cassava roots with local women," Shi told ChinAfrica.

In March 2013, while delivering a speech at the Julius Nyerere International Convention Center in Dar es Salaam during his state visit to Tanzania, Chinese President Xi Jinping praised two Chinese young people who had contributed to Sino-Tanzanian friendship. Inspired by this, Shi decided to do something to help improve Sino-African relations. Later, in 2014, after completing her mission with Xinhua News Agency, she returned to Africa to start a new professional career aimed at building bilateral relations, hence the creation of Bobuafrica.

Shi admits that it is rare to read reports about ordinary Africans in the Chinese media. For this reason, she wishes to share on social networks experiences that she had in Africa, so as to bridge the cultural gap between the two peoples. On Bobuafrica's WeChat platform, users can access information about almost every aspect of African culture: carefully selected tours, typical dishes, emblematic films and especially interesting and sometimes moving stories that reflect the real life of Africans.