As the Year of the Loong approaches, the Chinese International Youth Exchange Center held the “Dragon’s Journey – Spring Carnival” event in Beijing on February 2nd. About 120 Chinese and foreign guests, including diplomatic envoys from over 30 countries such as Jamaica, Nepal, the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Australia, Japan, South Korea, Mongolia, Malaysia, Kenya, and Namibia, as well as overseas students in China, were invited to participate in the event to experience Chinese culture and welcome the new year. The event featured 12 interactive experience zones showcasing China’s “intangible cultural heritage,” including calligraphy, rubbing, Paper Cuttings, dough figurines, tea ceremony, and traditional Chinese clothing. What is the “Chinese Loong,” what are the customs of the Spring Festival, and what are the rules for wearing Hanfu and Tangzhuang… Chinese and foreign youths engaged in exchanges while experiencing these, and also enjoyed the singing and dancing performances from the Central Ethnic Song and Dance Troupe.

Bishnu Shrestha, the Nepalese ambassador to China, expressed his joy in participating in the Spring Festival Carnival with Nepalese students studying in China on the day of the Chinese Lunar New Year’s Eve. He emphasized that the inheritance of Nepal-China friendly relations depends on the younger generation and hoped to deepen exchanges between Nepalese and Chinese youth in the future.
Arthur Williams, the Jamaican ambassador to China, has just presented his credentials. He stated that despite the long distance between the two countries, the friendship between Jamaica and China has a long history and the mutually beneficial cooperation between them has been continuously deepening. He hopes that the younger generation of both countries will strengthen exchanges and contribute to the development of bilateral relations.
The Chargé d’affaires of the Sri Lanka Embassy in China, Yugna Dan, expressed his Spring Festival greetings to the Chinese people through this event. He stated that Sri Lanka and China have maintained an unwavering friendship for a long time, and in the future, the Sri Lanka Embassy in China will strive to contribute to the exchanges and cooperation between the two countries in the fields of politics, economy, culture, science and technology, and youth.

This is the first time for Katyusha, a Kazakhstan international student at the Beijing Film Academy, to experience Chinese culture. Wearing a traditional Chinese dress and carrying a lantern with the character “福” printed on it, Katyusha expressed that she had an “immersive” experience of Chinese culture during the event. She majors in photography and wants to take a series of photos to showcase the unique traditional Chinese culture in her own way. Mary, an international student from Kenya studying at Beijing Jiaotong University, majors in civil engineering and dreams of studying railway construction in China. She said that her life as an international student in China will be the most unforgettable memory of her life. After graduation, she plans to introduce the real and three-dimensional China she has seen to the world and strive to become a bridge of friendship between China and Africa.

Liu Aiping, Secretary of the Party Committee of the China International Youth Exchange Center, stated in his speech that the recently held United Nations General Assembly officially designated the Spring Festival as a United Nations holiday, and the Spring Festival culture will become an important bond for promoting friendly exchanges among young people from various countries. The Exchange Center hopes to work with friends from all over the world to experience the charm of Chinese traditional culture through immersive experiences during the Spring Festival atmosphere, and jointly explore cultural integration and cultural diversity. At the same time, in the new year, the Exchange Center looks forward to using culture as a bond to work with embassies in China and friends among overseas students to create new business cards and landmarks for international cultural exchanges, allowing more young people from different countries to come into contact with China, understand China, read China, and fall in love with China. We will continue to promote Sino-foreign youth exchanges and cooperation in the fields of economy and trade, culture, sports, innovation, environmental protection, and public welfare, and inject youth energy into world peace and development through topics of common concern to young people from all countries.