24 writers and columnists from acorss the world were given a warm welcome Thursday night at the World Trade Center in Hangzhou, capital of east China's Zhejiang province, as the annual program titled "linking Zhejiang--Zhejiang in the eyes of world writers" officially started.

The writers were from Germany, Franch, Greece, Hungary, Romania,Slovenia, Macedonia, Russia, United States, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, India, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand as well as HK, Macao and Taiwan.

According to an official with the Information Office of Zhejiang Provincial People's Government, the event will last 11 days in all, during which writers from both home and abroad will first visit West Lake in Hangzhou and the TV&Film City in Dongyang city, before they tour in other areas of the province in three groups.