You and Us, a compilation of Chinese scholars, diplomats, journalists and entrepreneurs' writings and recollections about frienship between Chinese and Pakistani peoples, was launched in a ceremony in Beijing on July 24, 2015.

President of Pakistan Mamnoon Hussain wrote a preface for the book. He writes that the essays are a realistic depiction of the author's analysis of the country's various cultural and ethical strands and while reading the book one seems to get engrossed in the time of the authors and starts living their lives. He is confident that the book will serve as an interesting handbook for all those seeking to learn about Pakistan from a foreign perspective.

Pakistani Ambassador to China Masood Khalid expressed his gratitude to Ambassador Lu Shulin and paid rich tribute to all the writers for their contribution to the book. He said that the book You and Us, was not just a tale of friendship, it was also a walkway into the history of last six decades.

"It is a depiction of fraternal sentiments between the two peoples. It captures the essence of our people to people contacts. It's priceless photographs take us down the memory lane," he said. He added that the walkway also showed the Chinese journalists taking interviews and writing about important events as well as Chinese workers and their Pakistani counterparts building a modern wonder - the Karakoram Highway.

Lu Shulin, chief compiler and former Chinese ambassador to Pakistan, addressed the ceremony extemporaneously in Urdu, English and Chinese, saying that his book is a tribute to the friendship between the two countries and he cherished the days spent in Pakistan. He told the audience about the making of the book and how he contacted the authors and motivated them to contribute their writings for compilation into a manuscript. An additional preface is written by China's Ambassador to Pakistan Sun Weidong whose father has also contributed an essay to the book, Lu Shulin said.

The launching ceremony was attended by leaders from the Chinese People's Association of Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC), and the China Pakistan Friendship Association President Sha Zukang.

(China.org.cn July 26, 2015)