Correspondent: Luo Huizhong
To thoroughly serve the national Belt and Road Initiative, continuously advance the university’s strategic layout for international education, and deepen cultural exchanges among young people between China and countries along the Belt and Road, Wuhan Technical University successfully held the Belt and Road Kazakhstan Elite Study Tour Camp from July 31 to August 8. Outstanding high school students from Kazakhstan gathered in Wuhan. They immersed themselves in Chinese language classes, traditional Chinese intangible cultural heritage, China’s education system and literary charm, traveled across Jingchu land, and embarked on an informative, cultural and international study tour in China.
Centered on the learning characteristics and cognitive rules of overseas teenagers, this study camp carefully built a systematic and multi-level featured curriculum system. Taking language learning as the foundation, intangible cultural heritage as the carrier, and national conditions education as the core, it achieved the organic integration of diverse teaching contents. The courses started with Chinese language teaching. Based on mature and standardized teaching models, teaching was carried out step by step covering basic pronunciation, daily conversations and practical vocabulary, effectively lowering the threshold for international participants to learn Chinese. The classes enjoyed a relaxed and lively atmosphere. Participants took the initiative to follow, interact and speak up boldly. With great enthusiasm for learning, they quickly mastered basic daily communication skills and laid a solid foundation for language exchange.
Beyond language learning, the study camp incorporated immersive intangible cultural heritage practical courses and created distinctive cultural experience sessions. Participants listened carefully to the introduction of the origin of paper-cutting intangible cultural heritage and cut traditional patterns by hand, experiencing traditional Chinese aesthetics through ingenious handcrafting. They immersed themselves in hard-tip calligraphy experiences, calmly picking up brushes to trace Chinese characters and appreciating the structural beauty of Chinese characters amid the rhythm of strokes. They also took plain paper folding fans as the creation carrier to write customized cultural and creative works by hand, preserving exclusive memories of the study camp. Through hands-on practice, they truly felt the profound heritage of traditional Chinese culture.
To further broaden participants’ cognitive horizons and break cross-cultural barriers, the university offered special lectures on China’s education system and classic Chinese literature. The lectures systematically sorted out the complete education system from basic education to higher education in China, and elaborated on literary treasures such as traditional poems and the Four Great Classical Novels. They helped participants fully understand the current development of education in China, deeply perceive the spiritual core of traditional culture, and gradually build a comprehensive, three-dimensional and diverse cognitive framework of China.
Combining classroom study with on-site practice, this study tour makes cultural exchanges warmer through this mobile classroom. On campus, participants of the study camp took group photos in the university library, immersing themselves in the strong academic atmosphere and profound educational heritage of the university. For off-campus activities, participants visited the Hubei Provincial Museum to trace the thousand-year-old Jingchu cultural lineage, appreciate precious Chu cultural relics, listen to time-honored Jingchu stories, and deeply feel the profoundness and splendor of China’s 5,000-year civilization. They visited urban landmarks including the Wuhan Sky Shuttle and Han Street to closely experience Wuhan’s convenient smart life, modern urban style and unique urban cultural charm, and directly witness the development speed and urban glamour of China in the new era.
This nine-day study tour integrates language learning, cultural experience, national conditions education and urban study tours, allowing teenagers from Kazakhstan to immerse themselves in the Chinese language, fall in love with Chinese culture and see a true China. The participants all said they gained a great deal from this study tour. They not only consolidated their foundation in Chinese and experienced the charm of hard-tip calligraphy and paper-cutting intangible cultural heritage, but also gained brand-new understanding of China’s education, culture and urban development. They stated that they will keep learning Chinese and hope to pursue further studies at Wuhan Technical University in the future, opening a new chapter of studying in China.
The successful holding of this study camp has effectively built a bridge of friendship between young people from China and Kazakhstan and consolidated the foundation for youth exchanges between the university and countries along the Belt and Road. In the future, Wuhan Technical University will continue to deepen its international strategic layout, enrich programs including international study tours, inbound student education and Sino-foreign cooperative education. It will keep telling Chinese stories well and spreading the voice of vocational education, empower international cooperation through people-to-people and cultural exchanges, and contribute Wuhan Polytechnic’s strength to serving the high-quality development of the national Belt and Road Initiative.
(Reviewed by: Zhang Ziyi Editor-in-charge: Lou Xiuming)
