From March 27 to 31, four SCMU faculty members and students were invited to participate in the “Exploring China” international exchange program organized by the National Pictorial. The program included a research tour to Beijing, Chengde, and Chifeng, as well as a Gen Z exploration of Chinese culture. Participants included Liu Xiao, a master’s student from the School of Literature, Journalism and Communication, international students ILUNGA ANDRE MURHABAZI (Democratic Republic of Congo) and CLEMENT YOAN MARC (France), along with Liu Hong, a staff from the Party Committee Publicity Department.

Cultural Relics and Ancient Books Exhibition.Photo by Liu Hong

The research group visited numerous cultural and educational sites, including Chengde Mountain Resort Museum, Bairin Right Banner Gesar Heritage Center, Bairin Right Banner Educational Practice Base for Consolidating a Strong Sense of Community for the Chinese Nation, Saihan Wula Natural History Museum, Linhuang Home Community, Chifeng Museum, and Ma’anshan Village. In Beijing, the group also toured the Cultural Relics and Ancient Books Exhibition on Consolidating a Strong Sense of Community for the Chinese Nation, and the former site of the Mongolian and Tibetan School, now serving as the Experience Center of Community for the Chinese Nation.

Throughout the visits, local guides provided easily understandable explanations that helped international students learn about the historical development of Chengde, Inner Mongolia, and Beijing. The tours highlighted the history of interaction, communication, and integration among various ethnic groups, precious historical imprints, and stories of ethnic unity and progress. Students also witnessed how traditional industries in ethnic regions have combined with new technologies and business models to bring transformative changes to people’s lives.

At Linhuang Home Community, international students learn calligraphy with local residents. Photo by Liu Hong

At Chifeng’s modern agricultural industrial park and mutton industrial park, participants tasted dairy products like milk skin and milk tofu while learning about the “company + farmer” business model for beef cattle and advanced sheep breeding technologies. At the mutton industrial park, they discovered how imported breeding sheep, despite their high cost, could improve local lamb breeds through scientific breeding, indoor farming, and large-scale promotion, enhancing industry quality and efficiency while increasing local farmers’ production and income. The industrial park covers over 140 mu (about 23 acres), with well-organized sheep pens and healthy, thriving lambs. After touring the sheep pens, international student ILUNGA ANDRE MURHABAZI (Democratic Republic of Congo) told reporters, “I originally thought the herdsmen here would raise at most a few dozen cattle and sheep and live in yurts. I was shocked to see farms with thousands of cattle.”

When asked about the most memorable experience, Liu Xiao mentioned the Ulan Muqir performance at the Bairin Right Banner Gesar Heritage Center on the evening of the 29th. She said, “It was my first time hearing the story of ‘Three Thousand Orphans to Inner Mongolia’. At the performance, everyone was moved by the sincere presentation, and many students were brought to tears.”

Before the end of the program, the National Pictorial organized a roundtable meeting for participants. International students ILUNGA ANDRE MURHABAZI (Democratic Republic of Congo) and CLEMENT YOAN MARC (France) shared, “This journey left a deep impression on us. The scenery was beautiful throughout, and we profoundly experienced the unity among different ethnic groups.”

The program aimed to showcase the tremendous changes in ethnic regions since the founding of the People’s Republic of China, especially in the new era. It sought to present the vibrant situation of the Chinese nation’s united endeavor and common prosperity, focusing on telling the stories of the Chinese nation and the community for the Chinese nation. The event invited more than 20 Chinese and international faculty and students from Minzu University of China, South-Central Minzu University, Southwest Minzu University, Northern Minzu University, Dalian Minzu University, and Guangxi Minzu University to travel across China, listen to stories about the community for the Chinese nation, and deeply experience China as a country that is credible, lovable, and respectable.