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The other day, the 2026 "Chinese Bridge" Summer Camp, hosted by SCNU, came to a successful close. From June 20 to July 3, students and teachers from the Confucius Institute at Latvia University and the Confucius Institute of Réunion, France, visited Guangzhou, Foshan, and Beijing for Chinese language learning, cultural immersion, and educational excursions. During the same period, a group from West Orange High School in New Jersey, United States, participated in the "Youth Envoys Exchange and Learning Program" (YES Program) organized by the China Education Association for International Exchange. A total of 48 participants from the three groups embarked on a Greater Bay Area study tour at SCNU’s Foshan campus.
The program was organized by the International Business College of SCNU, leveraging the university's international education platform, the strategic location of the Foshan campus, and the rich cultural and educational resources of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. Built around four core themes—Technology and Innovation, Living Cultural Heritage, Urban History and Life, and Community and Rural Development—the program seamlessly integrated Chinese language classes, thematic lectures, intangible cultural heritage experience, corporate visits, city tours, and youth exchange. The site-specific cultural, industrial, and urban-rural development contexts of the Greater Bay Area were transformed into vivid classrooms for international participants to better understand China.
Chinese language and calligraphy courses introduced students to the beauty of the Chinese characters through daily conversation and hands-on brushwork. Experiences in Cantonese Opera, Yongchun, copper engraving, and pottery allowed students to engage with Lingnan culture through listening, practice, and creative expression. At the Hung Sin-nui Arts Center, students tried their hand at singing styles, costumes, and stage props. In the intangible cultural heritage workshops, their handmade works became tangible artifacts through which they understood traditional craftsmanship and cultural values.
Students from the Foshan intangible cultural heritage copper engraving workshop with their copper-engraved butterfly artworks.
Beyond cultural learning, the program incorporated corporate visits and on-site observation sessions that allowed international youth to observe contemporary China's development practices firsthand. At technology enterprises, students learned about the application of intelligent robot dogs, electromagnetic net catchers, and other products in public safety and smart city construction. From Foshan Ancestral Temple and Lingnan Tiandi to Guangzhou's Huacheng Square, traditional alleys, Lingnan architecture, and modern skylines formed a mobile classroom on urban development. In Nanshan Town, Sanshui District, Foshan, students visited a cultural tourism space transformed from an abandoned mining area, learning about ecological restoration, industrial transformation, and rural revitalization efforts.
Students watch a robotic dog carrying out commands at a technology company.
During the exchange, participants from the three groups were mixed into shared classes. They attended lessons, visited sites, and completed experiential tasks together, sharing their own cultural backgrounds through project creation, group discussions, and collective outings. A special lecture, Understanding the Greater Bay Area: Where East and West Converge, guided students to reflect on the visible and invisible "bridges" connecting cities, cultures, and the world through the lens of the Greater Bay Area's history as a crossroads of cultures.
One Latvian student shared that the journey had opened her mind to China: "Whether it was cultural experiences, company visits, or city explorations, I took the initiative to try and reflect. Participating firsthand allowed me to see the true face of China in terms of technological development, cultural heritage, urban construction, and social life."
After the joint study tour, the college arranged extension routes based on the specific learning needs of each group. The "Chinese Bridge" Summer Camp group from Latvia traveled to Beijing for historical and cultural exploration, visiting the Center for Language Education and Cooperation under the Ministry of Education to learn about international Chinese language education. The Réunion group continued their in-depth journey in Guangzhou and Foshan, focusing on Lingnan culture and intangible cultural heritage. The U.S. group under the YES Program visited the Hang Seng University of Hong Kong and cultural spaces in the city for academic exchanges and Greater Bay Area exploration. The combination of shared learning and tailored itineraries allowed students to gain a multifaceted understanding of China—a country with deep cultural traditions, vibrant innovation, and a global vision rooted in local realities.
Students visit the Center for Language Education and Cooperation under the Ministry of Education.
Since 2014, SCNU has hosted over 20 editions of international youth exchange programs such as the "Chinese Bridge" Summer Camp, receiving nearly 1,100 participants. Looking ahead, SCNU will deepen collaboration with universities, enterprises, cultural institutions, and communities both at home and abroad, continuously refining exchange programs that embody Lingnan characteristics, Greater Bay Area identity, international appeal, and SCNU's unique strengths. Through these efforts, the university aims to advance its high-level opening-up in education and contribute to fostering mutual understanding and exchange between Chinese and international youth.
Source from School of International Culture of SCNU
Translated by Yu Kaixi, Tang Ying
Proofread by Edwin Baak
Edited by Li Yiwei
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