Twenty-five foreign youths from 18 countries and 35 from Jiangsu shared their life experiences at a parallel session of the World Youth Development Forum which opened on July 21 in Nanjing, East China's Jiangsu province.
All the foreigners who participated in the event have developed close relationships with their Chinese friends and have been actively promoting cultural exchanges. For example, a Kazakhstani student who goes by the Chinese name Shi Ying has been taking classes that are conducted in Chinese to better understand China and integrate into his schoolmates. The Southeast University student has also formed a band with six Chinese friends and performed at school activities.
He Yala, an Egyptian girl who is presently pursuing her master's degree at Hohai University, is a fervent fan of Chinese culture and local delicacies in Nanjing. She has participated in many cultural exchange activities and recently performed baduanjin, or eight silken movements, a traditional form of Chinese aerobics, during the 2022 Belt and Road Youth Sport Exchange Week (Jiangsu).
Chinese youths are also becoming more confident in having their voices heard by the world, and their high proficiency of foreign languages help with cross-cultural communication, said Zhu Yi, who works at the National Institute of Audit of Nanjing Audit University.
Zhou Li, the dean of the School of Internet Literature of Sanjiang University, has published more than 40 novels and several of her works have been translated into English, Japanese, Thai, and Vietnamese. "I hope my works can help people around the world learn more about China and foster more cultural exchanges," said Zhou.
A Russian technical expert who works at the Suzhou Automotive Research Institute of Tsinghua University also said he has learned that the Chinese government has provided much assistance and opportunities for young people to realize their potential.
