Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Pretoria, South Africa, on Monday local time for his third state visit to the country and will attend the 2018 BRICS summit from July 25 to 27.

With gracious old architecture lining the street and purple Jacarandas bursting into a beautiful haze in the city, Pretoria, the administrative capital of South Africa, is no doubt a showcase of the country’s tumultuous history and flourishing present. Follow CGTN as we explore a new South Africa in old Pretoria.

The Union Buildings, fronted by a Nelson Mandela’s statue, might be the most prominent landmark in Pretoria. These sweeping sandstone buildings are the headquarters of the South African government and are home to the president.

Even though the buildings are not open to the public, it’s worth visiting to view from the front gardens, where you’ll find statues of former national heroes including Danie Theron, an Afrikaner hero killed during the Boer War and the great Nelson Mandela, the first black president and a human rights icon in South Africa. Don’t forget to take a picture with the giant open-armed Mandela – it's the top selfie spot!

Erected on December 16, 1949, the Voortrekker Monument commemorates the victory of Afrikaner over the Zulus at the Battle of Blood River in 1864. Voortrekker means “pioneer” in Dutch. As the ancestors of some modern-day Africans, the Voortrekkers journeyed north over the coastal mountains of the Cape from 1835 to 1854 and came to the heart of Africa.

Surrounded by a 3.4-square-kilometer nature reserve, the Monument is located 3 kilometers away from the city. The building itself is a huge stone cube and each corner bears the face of an Afrikaner hero. Every year on Dec. 16, the Day of Reconciliation, all kinds of celebrations are held here to recognize national pioneers’ contributions, to remember the history and to wish a bright and harmony future for the country.

Every year from late September to mid-November, Jacarandas bloom all over Pretoria and turn the city into purple. The Jacaranda was first introduced to South Africa in 1888, but was officially planted in Pretoria in the 1900s by the municipality. Due to the ideal growing conditions, 16 percent of urban trees in Pretoria are Jacarandas, making the purple haze a true brand of the city.

Some of Pretoria’s oldest Jacarandas can be found around Bosman and Cilliers Streets, where the first lanes of Jacarandas were planted. To get a birds-eye-view of the purple sea, you can take a drive along Klapperkop, which has many viewpoints for admiring the purple haze. 

The steam train is alive and well all across South Africa. It might not be the most environmentally friendly or the fastest way to get around, but it’s quite romantic. South Africa has a few options for those who want a peek back in history.

Get on a Diamond Express and let the train take you from Pretoria to the small town of Cullian. Watching the countryside passing by at a leisurely pace as you sit back and enjoy a cup of hot beverage, you will definitely enjoy this old-fashioned rail adventure.

In the previous two decades, the relationship between China and South Africa has grown in strategic significance. In 2000, they signed the Pretoria Declaration, marking the formal establishment of partnership. Then they built it up into a strategic partnership in 2004, and ultimately to a comprehensive strategic partnership in 2010, when the Beijing Declaration was signed, according to Xinhua.

South Africa is rapidly becoming one of the top business and tourists destinations for Chinese in the past 20 years. It is estimated that tourism expenditures in tourism from China will reach 429 billion US dollars by 2021.