With the aim of weighing future prospects for China's financial development in South Africa prior to setting up a foreign trade platform, and the aim of strengthening cooperation and exchanges of ideas among various financial institutions in South China, Acetop Precious Metals Limited accepted an invitation from the most influential web portal in China -- Hexun.com (South China Branch) -- to join an 8-day study tour that ran from 6 January through 13 January, 2013, for an opportunity to study and engage in a friendship exchange.

South Africa has a beautiful nickname: the "Rainbow Nation." It is one of the countries in the world that has vast mineral resources. The amount of its minerals accounted for half of the total area of South Africa. Of all the minerals, the production of gold, chromium, diamonds, and platinum remain among the highest in the world. At the aggregate level, South Africa's economic strength is one of the highest of any country on the African continent.

Bikini Beach

In the morning of the first day, we went to the famous beach in South Africa -- the Bikini Beach. This place is like a dream world in your mind, the vast wilderness remains unaltered in its original form; the wildflowers were in full bloom; the lush grass flourished; the sky was transparent blue; and the beach was unspoiled. We put aside our busy life and stopped for a day to fully enjoy ourselves with the clear water and the smooth sand, and looked from horizon to horizon at the vast expanse of the sky, fully immersing ourselves in the sunshine and lovely beach that South Africa offered us.

Wild Safari

In the afternoon, we went to a wildlife conservation area in a specially designed sightseeing bus. A wildlife expedition is something so exciting and new you can easily get carried away. When the wild animals that we normally see from TV appeared, everyone on the bus took out their mobile phones and cameras and kept snapping pictures. The antelopes, wildebeests, zebras, giraffes, wild boars, and hippos, one by one, began presenting themselves live in front of our eyes.

Sun City
On the second day of our trip, we arrived in Sun City.
Sun City, just like its name, is filled with excitement and passion, like one big classy entertainment venue that, once you are there, you enjoy yourself so much that you just want to linger. Here, you have brilliantly illuminated gaming establishments, grandiose golf courses, horse riding arenas, and a man-made beach. Any conventional high-end entertainment activities that you can think of, they have it in Sun City. But the most surprising thing about the city is that the baboons could be seen wandering about the golf course; the gray cranes loitering on the hotel's outdoor terrace, and large wild birds foraging leisurely by the swimming pool. Africa is indeed a paradise for wildlife!

Table Mountain

On the fourth day, we arrived in Cape Town, the capital of South Africa. The name itself means “a city of the rocky headland.” The exotic looking mountain overlooking Cape Town is Table Mountain (some referred to it as God's table), 1087 meters in height. The mountain resembles a huge rectangular table. Across from the mountain is a natural harbor with a similar name, Table Bay. When you stand on top of the mountain overlooking the entire city of Cape Town, you feel like the whole world is at your feet. In a certain sense, the mountain is an old man sitting by the Atlantic Ocean witnessing historical changes in the world.

Gold Reef City

On the fifth day, we went to visit the Gold Reef City located south of Johannesburg. Each of us wore a helmet and put on a pair of long rubber boots before getting into a shabby cage-like elevator that lowered us to a depth of 220 meters underground to see the gold mining operations of the old days.

Cape of Good Hope

The Cape of Good Hope, a landmark in Cape Town, is located at the southern tip of the Cape Peninsula. Apart from the special features existed on the peninsula, e.g., the cliffs, sandy beaches, exotic flora, exotic fauna, and the harbor, the rocky headland has one of the world's most beautiful coastlines. The entire Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve is part of the Table Mountain National Park. The name Cape Town came from Cape of Good Hope, a place where the Atlantic Ocean and Indian Ocean converge. When the two ocean currents collide, monstrous waves form year round. It is surely a spectacular sight to behold.

Boulders Beach

We went to the penguin protection area to see the well-known African Penguins. The penguin conservation area in Cape Town is the world's largest protected area for wild penguins. Here, many wildlife experts conduct researches, participate in and lead conservation projects. Right now, in Philip Island, there are over cute-looking 30,000 penguins that live on the island.

It is a memorable 8-day South Africa trip. Getting to know better the local customs and culture of South Africa aside, the most important thing is that we got a chance to become acquainted with several business leaders from the well-known enterprises in South China, and a chance to engage with them in in-depth exchanges of views and ideas -- all these play a major role in the future development of Acetop Precious Metals Limited.

There are way too many exciting moments to be included here, and we look forward to experience another foreign place next year.