From October 17th to 19th, 2015, the “Knowing China: Harmony of Ethnicities” Jilin Cultural Experience Activity for Students Sponsored by Chinese Government Scholarship, hosted by China Scholarship Council and organized by Jilin University, took place in Yanbian. Its participants were over 100 teachers and students from China Scholarship Council, Jilin University, Northeast Normal University, Changchun University of Science and Technology, Jilin Agricultural University, Changchun University and Changchun University of Chinese Medicine.
On the first day, the international students took the Jituhui high-speed rail, the most beautiful high-speed rail section of Northeast China, and arrived within just three hours from Changchun to Huichun, a border city where one can see three countries. They visited Fangchuan Village which sat at the juncture of three countries, on the left of which were mountains of Russia and on the right Tumen River and North Korea. The international students were amazed. Then they visited the Chinese border city Tumen, which was separated from North Korea by a river, and the Tumen River that showed the status quo of China’s ecological development. On the second day, they visited Yanji, the seat of the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture. They also visited Guangdong Village inhabited by the Korean ethnicity, which President Xi Jinping had visited a short time ago. The village was clean and tidy with flowers blossoming on two sides of the road. The rows of residences, which were mostly black, white and gray and thus looked simple but elegant, demonstrated the prominent features of the residences of the Korean ethnicity. Following local customs, the international students took off their shoes before entering the house and sat cross-legged on the floor as they chatted with the owner about the daily life of local residents of Korean ethnicity. Anmol Mukhia, an Indonesian doctor candidate of international relations in the School of International and Public Affairs, Jilin University, said: “To us researchers, a field trip is good for whetting the appetite of university students in studying Guangdong Village, and the fine qualities of Guangdong Villagers are also important for the Chinese Dream to come true.”
In Yanji city, one can see a dazzling array of products from South Korea, which the locals have grown accustomed to. Many South Korean products are used in their daily life and can be bought almost everywhere. Not only people of Korean ethnicity but also people of Han ethnicity have grown used to the Korean lifestyle, which is quite characteristic of the Korean ethnicity: Korean doenjang-jjigae (soup made with soybean paste), kimchi (fermented vegetables) and bibimbap (a mixture of rice, meat and vegetables, etc.) have become daily necessities. Bah Boubacar Alpha, a Mali doctor candidate of world economy in Economics School of Jilin University, said: “I think Huichun is in a good location as here you can see Russia and North Korea. We love this trip. The buildings, landscapes and cooking art of Yanji are very impressive to me. Every day we can feel the cultural diversity of different colleges and universities in Changchun.”
In the morning of October 19th, the international students went back to Changchun by high-speed rail. In the afternoon, they visited the museum and production lines of Hongqi cars in China First Automobile Works Group Corporation. Through this visit, the international students learned about China’s own brands and automobile manufacturing industry.
Through this activity, the international students experienced the culture unique to the Korean ethnicity and had a sense of the unity, harmony and pursuit of common development among China’s multiple ethnicities. It provided the international students with more opportunities to have direct contact with and experience of China’s local culture, allowing them to know much more about China and thus nudging them closer to truly fitting in and loving China.
