With the support of the Overseas Student Office, the School of Overseas Education, Sichuan University organized the "Hello Qianwei, Springtime with You" Silk Road Youth Festival study tour from March 1st to 4th, which was hosted by Qianwei County People's Government and jointly hosted by the School of Overseas Education, SCU and the CCTV International Online Sichuan Channel. Nearly 100 international students from the School of Overseas Education, West China School of Medicine, School of Mechanical Engineering, School of History and Culture, Business School, and School of Literature and Journalism applied for the activity. And 8 outstanding students from Russia, Bangladesh, Tajikistan, Yemen, Iran, and India, including undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral students, were selected to participate in this event.
This activity is one of the series of Chinese cultural education activities launched by the Overseas Student Office for international students, aiming to tell the story of China, spread the voice of China, and present a trustworthy, lovely, and respectable image of China. By leading international students to various parts of China, the activity aims to guide them to have a deeper understanding of the real China and encourage them to share their thoughts and experiences with more people, which plays an active role in promoting mutual understanding among people of different countries.
Qianwei County, relying on its rich historical and cultural heritage and abundant tourism resources, has won honors such as "China's Jasmine Town", "China's Chinese Toon Town" and the provincial-level "Four Good Rural Road" demonstration county. It has three national 4A-level scenic spots and one national 3A-level scenic spot. The profound Confucian culture, unique industrial culture, colorful folk culture, and dazzling ecological culture jointly constitute the rich and colorful Qianwei features. Here, there is the only narrow-gauge steam train in the world that operates normally, the Qianwei Confucian Temple, which ranks first in scale in Sichuan and fourth in the country, and the Luocheng boat-shaped street town, which is known as the "Oriental Noah's Ark" by UNESCO.
During the trip, the international students first experienced the coming-of-age ceremony in traditional Chinese costumes with local students at the Qianwei Confucian Temple and observed the children's initiation ceremony, immersing themselves in the study of Chinese Confucian culture. Then they took the hundred-year-old steam train through the sea of rapeseed flowers, experiencing a romantic encounter that transcends time and space and getting a close-up view of the beauty of China's mountains and rivers. In addition, the students also visited Jiayang Coal Mine and experienced the working scene of coal miners in the past, feeling the spirit of struggle of the Chinese people who are not afraid of hardships. Afterwards, they watched the local traditional folk dance " Qilin Lantern" in the ancient town of Luocheng, learning from the young actors and experiencing the profound Chinese martial arts. Finally, the students also experienced tea picking, tea frying, and watched the craft of handmade wine-making.
The event has left a deep impression on international students, many of whom expressed that they were greatly enlightened and benefited from the experience. Indian student Wu Limei said, "I am very happy to have learned kung fu from the 'little masters'. The whole trip to Qianwei was amazing." Iranian student Wang Weina recorded her experience of visiting the cherry blossom sea in a video and posted it on her Instagram account, saying, "I love to share the beautiful things I see and let more people know about the beauty of Qianwei, Sichuan." At the same time, the event was extensively covered by the CCTV International Online Sichuan Channel in multiple languages. A short video of the students riding on the Jiayang small train attracted 110,000 views on the first day and received nearly 2,000 likes.