Germany's President Steinmeier enjoys mountain hike during China trip

German Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier spent a day in the countryside on Wednesday during his four-day state visit to China.

He first visited the historic village of Hongcun, founded in 1131. From there, he travelled to the Huangshan Mountains, also known as the Yellow Mountains, for a hike along with his delegation.

He then travelled back to the regional capital, Hefei, on a Chinese high-speed train where his Air Force Airbus was waiting for the onward flight to Beijing.

Steinmeier bid farewell to his hosts on the platform, saying: "We've seen a lot, but not enough. So we'll have to come back."

However, any future trip to the area by Steinmeier is likely to be a private one, as his presidential term of office ends on March 18 next year.

In the Chinese capital, he is due to deliver a speech this Thursday at Beijing University on German-Chinese economic and cultural relations and on China's role as a global power in international relations.

These two topics are also expected to dominate the meetings the following day with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang.