On March 23, 22 teachers and students from middle schools in Wisconsin, USA, as part of the Splendid Jiangsu · American Youth Exchange Camp, visited YCIT for cultural exchange activities. Shao Rong, President of YCIT, attended the welcome ceremony and delivered a speech. Officials from the Foreign Affairs Office of Yancheng Municipal People’s Government and the Education Bureau of Yancheng City, along with representatives from YCIT’s Administration Office and the International Cooperation and Exchange Department, as well as relevant faculty and students, participated in the event.
On behalf of the university, President Shao extended a warm welcome to the visiting American teachers and students. He introduced to the campers Yancheng’s long history of “rising from salt and thriving with salt”, its unique ecological charm as a “World Natural Heritage Site” and “International Wetland City”, as well as YCIT’s educational features and international cooperation achievements.
The American visitors toured the exhibition of YCIT’s industry-education integration achievements, watched a display of the “Wild Horse” racing car, and interacted with team members on car design, manufacturing technology, training and competition. They also enjoyed an a cappella mixed chorus of the American folk song “Shenandoah” performed by the “Voice of Dreams” Choir. The pure and infectious singing won warm applause from the American guests.
In front of the library, under the guidance of physical education teachers from YCIT, the American students and teachers experienced Tai Chi, a traditional Chinese martial art, feeling the interplay of hardness and softness and the philosophical essence of the East in every movement. Afterwards, they went to the School of Art and Design to try their hand at making lacquer fans, an intangible cultural heritage of China. Under the guidance of professional instructors, they selected fan surfaces, chose lacquer materials, dyed, dried, and completed their own unique lacquer fans, appreciating the elegance and craftsmanship of traditional Chinese skills at their fingertips.
The event proceeded in a joyful and lively atmosphere. Chinese and American teachers and students took group photos and bid farewell with reluctance. The American guests thanked YCIT for its warm hospitality, praised the university’s strong academic atmosphere and rich cultural heritage, and said that this trip to YCIT had shown them a real, three-dimensional, and vivid China—a precious and beautiful memory that would stay with them for life.
As a flagship program of Jiangsu’s international educational exchange, the “Splendid Jiangsu · International Youth Exchange Camp” has invited more than 4,000 young people from around the world to Jiangsu since 2015. Following the visit of teachers and students from Pennsylvania last June, the return visit of the exchange camp to YCIT is an important step for the university to implement Jiangsu’s international education exchange requirements and deepen Sino-American youth exchanges. YCIT will continue to leverage high-quality international exchange platforms such as “Splendid Jiangsu”, constantly enriching its forms of international exchange, expanding international cooperation channels, and inviting more overseas young people to visit and study at the university.
