KABUL, Aug. 30 (Xinhua) -- Afghanistan has been facing extreme economic problems since the U.S. government froze nearly 10 billion U.S. dollars assets of Afghanistan's central bank following the U.S. forces defeat in and withdrawal from Afghanistan in August last year. More than 174,000 people died directly in the war in Afghanistan, according to a report of the Brown University. And the 20-year occupation of Afghanistan by the United States destroyed the country's infrastructure, devastated its economy and upended livelihoods.
Photo taken on Aug. 23, 2022 shows ruins at the site of the U.S. airstrike in Afghanistan's southern province of Helmand. (Photo by Saifurahman Safi/Xinhua)
Villagers fetch drinking water from a well in Baghlan province, Afghanistan, April 24, 2022. More than 3,000 families in Hazarqaq village of northern Baghlan province face acute water shortage, and they have to travel more than 6 kilometers to get water for daily use. (Photo by Mehrab Ibrahimi/Xinhua)
Photo taken on Dec. 4, 2021 shows children in Kabul, capital of Afghanistan. (Photo by Aria/Xinhua)
To help prevent a possible humanitarian catastrophe, China pledged 250 million yuan (about 37 million U.S. dollars) worth of aid to Afghanistan, including food supplies and winter clothes.
A plane carrying China-donated humanitarian aid supplies arrives at Kabul international airport in Kabul, capital of Afghanistan, Sept. 29, 2021. (Photo by Saifurahman Safi/Xinhua)
Afghan men carries China-donated relief supplies in Jawzjan province, Afghanistan, Aug. 24, 2022. (Photo by Zekrullah Yazdani/Xinhua)
An Afghan employee transports COVID-19 vaccines and syringes donated by the Chinese government at Kabul international airport in Kabul, capital of Afghanistan, Dec. 8, 2021. A batch of COVID-19 vaccines donated by the Chinese government arrived in Kabul. (Photo by Saifurahman Safi/Xinhua)
On June 22, a strong earthquake in southeastern Afghanistan killed more than 1,000 people and injured nearly 2,000 others while destroying tens of thousands of homes. China was among the first countries to help, pledging 50 million yuan (about 7.5 million dollars) in emergency humanitarian aid.
Photo taken on July 2, 2022 shows a child sitting next to China-donated quake relief supplies in Paktika province, Afghanistan. (Photo by Sabwoon/Xinhua)
A child stands next to a tent donated by Red Cross Society of China in quake-affected area of Paktika province, Afghanistan, July 18, 2022. (Photo by Sabwoon/Xinhua)
China has sent multiple shipments of emergency humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan and scheduled many chartered flights of pine nuts imported from the country to help ease the hardship and improve the livelihood of the Afghan people.
Photo taken on July 30, 2022 shows pine nuts at a pine nut processing factory in Kabul, Afghanistan. (Photo by Saifurahman Safi/Xinhua)
Women work at a pine nut processing factory in Kabul, Afghanistan, July 30, 2022. (Photo by Saifurahman Safi/Xinhua)
Photo taken on Jan. 10, 2022 shows packages of pine nuts to be loaded onto a plane at Kabul international airport in Kabul, capital of Afghanistan. The cargo flight carrying about 45 tons of pine nuts left Kabul for China.(Photo by Saifurahman Safi/Xinhua)
A ceremony was held in Kabul on July 31 to inaugurate China-funded teaching building and auditorium at Kabul University. The teaching building has an academic lecture hall and 30 classrooms equipped with projectors, audio and other multimedia teaching equipment. The auditorium can hold more than a thousand people.
Photo taken on June 16, 2022 shows the entrance of the China-funded auditorium at Kabul University in Kabul, Afghanistan. (China 19th Metallurgical Corporation/Handout via Xinhua)
Photo taken on July 31, 2022 shows the China-funded teaching building and auditorium at Kabul University in Kabul, Afghanistan. (Photo by Saifurahman Safi/Xinhua)
Photo taken on July 31, 2022 shows the China-funded auditorium at Kabul University in Kabul, Afghanistan. (Photo by Saifurahman Safi/Xinhua)
In central Afghanistan's Bamyan Valley stands the famous Buddhas of Bamyan. Due to years of war and economic hardships, caves in Bamyan Valley were not numbered and cleaned for a long time.
The situation that badly hindered the heritage protection and further archaeological research has been reversed these days. A group of young scholars from China's Peking University, Lanzhou University, Wenzhou University, the Central Academy of Fine Arts and the Hong Kong-based non-profit Friends of Dunhuang have financed and helped the protection work for the cultural heritage.
Things have changed for the better after two ticket offices, which also function as cultural heritage conservation workstations in the daytime, and security guard positions at night, were completed and put into use in May 2022.
Photo taken on March 16, 2022 shows the site of the Bamyan Buddha statue in Bamyan, central Afghanistan. (Photo by Saifurahman Safi/Xinhua)
Photo taken on July 13, 2022 shows a ticket office built with the assistance of Chinese scholars near the site of a giant Buddha statue in Bamyan province, Afghanistan. (Photo by Saifurahman Safi/Xinhua)
Over four decades of war and civil strife have destroyed most of Afghanistan's infrastructure, including roads and highways. China has helped to build a road in central Bamyan Province. The road built by the Chinese construction firm China Road and Bridge Corporation passes through more than 20 villages.
Vehicles are seen on a road built by a Chinese construction firm in Bamyan province, Afghanistan, July 12, 2022. (Photo by Saifurahman Safi/Xinhua)
A vehicle is seen on a road built by a Chinese construction firm in Bamyan province, Afghanistan, July 12, 2022. (Photo by Saifurahman Safi/Xinhua)■
