This is the cover of the first issue of the magazine “The Great Wall” produced by the former Badaling Special Tourism Zone Office in 2006. This photo was taken in March 1965 and captured this unforgettable moment.

The then Pakistani President Mohammad Ayub Khan visited China and climbed the Badaling Great Wall in Beijing.

The early spring sunlight accentuated the grandness of the Great Wall, and Ayub Khan was mesmerized by it. Feeling excited, he shook hands with Premier Zhou Enlai and took this photo.

The message of peace and friendship displayed in their smiles was heard by the world.

China and Pakistan have enjoyed a long-standing friendship. Ayub Khan has upheld a friendly foreign policy toward China, and publicly stated that Chinese people are the most reliable friends! In this regard, China-Pakistan relations have developed by leaps and bounds.

Ayub Khan was stunned by the Great Wall’s grandeur and captivated even more by the warmth and friendship of the Chinese people.

He made it clear: We need peace and we need friendship. Chairman Mao Zedong responded, So do we. Our two countries are friendly countries who look after each other’s interests.

Since then, the leaders of China and Pakistan increased the frequency of their visits to each other’s country, further consolidating the friendship between both sides.

Since the 1970s, China-Pakistan relations have developed steadily, and the governments and peoples of both countries have annotated the friendship of “ironclad brothers” with real actions.

The Karakoram Highway Phase I which ends at the Shahikot Bridge is referred to as the Friendship Bridge by Pakistan, but is called the Mao Zedong Bridge by the local people.

[The Construction of China-Pakistan Railway]

As the China-Pakistan friendship continues, it will strengthen and withstand time impregnably for generations to come just like the Great Wall.