Kodiak sported its best weather for Chinese television and radio producers and a fish broker who also owns fish processing plants in China. The group landed in Kodiak Tuesday morning for a four-day stay and are here to promote Alaska seafood and Alaska as a tourist destination for Chinese people.

“I would like to get the message across that this is a beautiful environment and the people are passionate about what they’re doing,” said Ray Chen China, a Central Television (CCTV) producer and host for their travel show. “It’s a short time, a short program, but hopefully we can (get across) those spiritual things. One day they will want to come here.”

Producers and crew from CCTV will visit several places in Alaska to create and air a 45-minute show featuring Alaska and Alaska seafood. CCTV is the major broadcast television network in China and is syndicated worldwide. They first aired in 1958. The state-run network boasts millions of viewers.

Three Alaska companies worked with the Alaska Fisheries Marketing Board (AFMB) to bring the group to Kodiak, and to other parts of Alaska. The co-sponsors are True World Foods in Kodiak, E.C Phillips, a family owned seafood business out of Ketchikan, and Copper River Seafoods.

On Wednesday evening, a reception was held for the group at the Fisheries Research Center on Near Island. They had a chance to speak with local people and to taste Kodiak seafood from Mill Bay Coffee while being serenaded by the Balilika players.

AFMB executive director Bill Hines, who is traveling with the group, said the board has done seafood promotions in China.

“A lot of people don’t know the difference between a wild fish and a cultured fish,” Hines said. “This is a great opportunity to be able to reach a mass audience with the message about Alaska, about its wild fish — everything.”

“They wanted us to introduce Alaska to China,” Liu Min, editor and reporter from China Radio International (CRI) out of Beijing, said. “We’ve never been to Alaska, a mysterious place. But why not?”

Liu said CRI is also state-owned and the only international radio broadcast network in China.

“It was the right choice for us to make to come here,” she said. “It’s such a beautiful place. We should bring Chinese people over here.”

An increasing number of wealthy people in China vacation abroad.

“The United States is a very good place for them to go, but unfortunately, few people know about Alaska. It is a word in the dictionary,” Liu said. “We think it is our mission to bring Alaska live to Chinese audiences and let them know what a beautiful place Alaska is.”

Chen said CCTV has more than 10,000 employees and 16 channels, one in English.

“This is the first trip to Alaska for all of us and we’re very excited,” Chen said.

He said he is most impressed with Kodiak’s weather, even after being told that hot, sunny days are not typical.

“I heard this (day) is the best one ever,” he said.

Fresh air, nature and what he calls the organic fishing industry also rank high on Chen’s list of impressive things about Kodiak.

“I thought Alaska was cold and did not have that many people. These things were stuck in my mind. When I got here, the weather is nice and (I see) people living here, dealing with the weather,” Chen said.

J.D. Chang, a Korean who lives in China, is a fish processor and broker. He said his company buys fish from Russia, Alaska and Japan. His two factories process fish into fillets and export to the European Union, Japan and America. This is known as secondary processing.

Chang also owns a fish trading company in Shanghai, which buys the fish and sells it to other Chinese fish processing factories.

He said every year, China imports 400,000 metric tons of fish.

“We have come here to learn about Alaska fish and we are trying to market those fish for local consumption,” Chang said.

Although China deals with many tons of fish, consumption there is relatively low.

“The delegation from CCTV and CRI will promote Alaska quality fish to the Chinese people,” Chang said. “That is the main purpose we are here at this time.”

The group toured True World Foods, museums in town and other sights around Kodiak. They visited a set-net site and had the opportunity to try their hand at fishing.

Friday they will leave Kodiak for Anchorage and will also visit Juneau and Ketchikan.