2025 marks the 20th anniversary of the establishment of China Maritime Day and the 620th anniversary of Zheng He's voyages to the Western Seas. On July 11, coinciding with the Ocean Innovation and Development Forum—a key event of the 2025 China Maritime Day held in Boao, Hainan Province—the Zheng He Research Association and Hainan Daily Press Group jointly launched the "Gift of Harmony" cultural project.

In the 15th century, the famed eunuch admiral, Zheng He, made seven voyages to the Western Seas (covering the present-day South China Sea and Indian Ocean), carrying Chinese silk, porcelain, and tea to the world in the spirit of "sharing the blessings of peace." He sowed seeds of peace, friendship, and mutual trust along the way, showcasing not only the pinnacle of ancient Chinese navigation technology but also the peaceful ethos of Chinese civilization—"harmony above all" and "harmony among nations."

2025 is the year when the Hainan Free Trade Port (FTP) will implement special customs operations and expand its opening up. As the only FTP with Chinese characteristics, Hainan is continuing Zheng He's navigational legacy as a "new highland of China's opening up" and a witness to the country's door opening ever wider to the outside world.

Leveraging the Zheng He Research Association's global network of seafarers and Hainan Daily Press Group (HDPG)'s international communication network, the project is working to bring together and showcase China's intangible cultural heritage techniques, craftsmanship, and concept of peace worldwide.

Niu Xiaomin, Party Committee Member and Deputy Editor-in-Chief of HDPG, delivered a speech at the project launch event. He stated that as the main driver behind the international promotion of the "Gift of Harmony" cultural project, HDPG will leverage the Hainan International Media Center's multilingual communication matrix, notably its ASEAN Liaison Center set to open in Kuala Lumpur this August, and other overseas media resources to form a comprehensive media communication system focused on telling the China's stories of the "Gift of Harmony" within ASEAN, thereby highlighting the Chinese wisdom of "transcending international barriers through cultural exchanges."

The forum was co-hosted by the Zheng He Research Association, the China Waterborne Transport Research Institute of the Ministry of Transport, China COSCO Shipping Corporation, and Hainan Daily Press Group. Attendees included experts such as academicians from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Singapore Academy of Engineering, as well as representatives from relevant departments of the Ministry of Natural Resources, the Ministry of Transport, the Malaysia Maritime Department, Maersk Group, and other related institutions.