This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). On March 7th, 2023, 30 RUC international students from 18 countries participated in the cultural exchange activity entitled “To Build Youth Friendship Through the BRI Corridor”, with an aim to strengthen people-to-people bonds between youth from countries alongside the Silk Road.

The activity contains three themes, namely historical culture, food culture and rural revitalization. The first stop is Yongning ancient city, which was built in Tang Dynasty and abundant with beautiful scenery and ancient temples. RUC students visited the village museum and showed strong interest in the history.

The intangible cultural heritage is another brand for tours in Yanqing District. International students enjoyed the exhibition of traditional pottery and experienced the land boat, from which they acquired intangible cultural heritage skills, encountered the local folk culture, and felt the charm of inclusive and profound Chinese culture.

Rural revitalization is an important theme of the activity. RUC students paid a visit to a homestay hotel, which is featured by South China style. In recent years, the homestay industry has been developing rapidly in Yanqing District as a paradigm of rural revitalization, creating over a thousand jobs and immensely increasing villagers’ income. The activity demonstrated a different China image from the perspective of modern rural community so that young students can experience the countryside folklore to feel a diverse and vibrant Chinese economy.

RUC International students speak highly of this activity. Some mentioned that “Through this activity, I learned Chinese local food culture, diverse tradition, and how hard they worked to preserve their own culture” and “Today Yanqing trip was so helpful for me to understand Chinese local festival/culture.”