Secretary General Xi Jinping sends a message to international youth: “Youngsters represent hope and create future. China always considers youngsters as a vibrant driving force for social development and encourages them to show young vitality in the practice of building a community with shared future for mankind”. From June 12 to 19, 2023, ten international students from Shenzhen University went to Tongren, Guizhou to participate in an exchange program which aims at allowing international students to avail themselves of Chinese cultural greatness firsthand and the charm of the “magnificent eastern Guizhou’s history”, to realize the unity of “knowing and acting”, and to serve as a conveyor of Chinese culture, a vigorous promoter of cultural exchanges, and a messenger of friendly people-to-people exchanges. Named “2023 Knowing and Acting in Guizhou” Silk Road Youth Exchange Program “Guizhou Dialects in Tongren· Silk Road Walking Together” - Writing a “Belt and Road” Civilization Dialogue in the Ancient Rhymes of Eastern Guizhou, this exchange program was sponsored by Guizhou Provincial Department of Education, organized by the Secretariat of the China- ASEAN Education Exchange Week, Tongren Preschool Normal College and Guizhou Health Vocational College.
During a week-long exchange, a wide portfolio of activities such as expert lectures, cultural experiences, and cultural exchange performances enabled international students to appreciate majestic mountains and rivers of Guizhou and splendid ethnic customs, enhance their understanding and cognition on Guizhou, and further sense ever-changing days in China. In the middle of this program, international students combined “reading thousands of books, traveling thousands of miles”, unified knowing and acting, and acquired knowledge through investigation. Our ten international students went deep into a wealth of cultural heritage experience courses prepared by Tongren Preschool Normal College and Guizhou Health Vocational College, such as paper cutting, Chinese martial dragon, dragon boat racing, Chinese tea art, Yuping flute, Tujia wave hand dance, Tai Chi, Guzheng performance, Chinese painting, calligraphy, Chinese chess, and also learned and practiced the knowledge of traditional Chinese medicine, such as Chinese medicine dispensing, Chinese medicine sachet producing, physiotherapy, fire cupping, acupuncture, etc. Apart from these courses, they observed Wanshan Jiufeng Agricultural Expo Park, Cinnabar Ancient Town, Cinnabar Mine, Cliff Plank Road of Cinnabar Ancient Town, China’s Top Tujia Village, Zhongnanmen Ancient Town, and Fanjing Mountain, and practically savored profound cultural heritage of Eastern Guizhou.
This “Knowing and Acting in Guizhou”Exchange Program registered a record of several “first times”: the first time to climb Fanjing Mountain without rain, teachers and students climbed Red Cloud Golden Summit for the first time, the first time to learn and play the Xiao flute on Fanjing Mountain, teachers and students rowed a dragon boat for the first time.
“2023 Knowing and Acting in Guizhou” Silk Road Youth Exchange Program has built a strong friendship between our international students and youngsters from other countries’ universities. Moreover, they have learned from each other, known each other in the understanding, dialogue and communication of China-Foreign country exchanges, learned to treat different cultures with inclusiveness and to contribute their efforts to build a community with shared future for mankind.
Photo 1: rowed a dragon boat
Photo 2: Experience calligraphy
Photo 3: Group photo at the Red Cloud Golden Summit
Photo 4: Travel silhouette
Photo 5: Experience Tujia Waving Dance
Photo 6: Experience Chinese Dragon Dance
Photo 7:Group photo of Chinese and foreign Youth culture exchange performance
Photo 8: Sino-foreign Youth culture exchange performance - classic reading
Photo 9:Sino-foreign Youth Cultural Exchange Exhibition - Model show
Photo 10:Traditional Chinese Medicine Dispensing and Grasping
Photo 11:Experience Tai Chi
Photo 12:Experience Chinese painting
Photo 13:Group photo at Fanjing Mountain
Photo 14:Experience calligraphy
Photo 15:Experience Yuping flute
Photo 16:Group Photo of 2023 Knowing and Acting in Guizhou
Photo 17:Experience the Chinese tea art
Photo 18:Experience Traditional Chinese Medicine
Photo 19:handmade paper cuts