From June 4 to 9, with strong support from the Liuba County Government in Shaanxi Province, over 40 international students from 13 countries including Poland, Brazil, Russia, France, the Netherlands, the United States, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, Indonesia, Iran, the United Kingdom, and Italy from BLCU's School of Applied Chinese, led by Party Secretary Zhou Xin of the school, Department Director Chen Wen, and class advisors, conducted a study tour in Liuba and Xi'an, Shaanxi. During the activities, the students engaged in farming in fields, sawing to make combs, enjoying operas in old streets, learning rubbing techniques and singing local tunes, climbing the Qinling Mountains, walking plank roads, playing football matches, and visiting enterprises... They fully immersed themselves in the most beautiful and authentic rural life, experiencing China's green development and rural revitalization achievements in an immersive way.
At the Zhang Liang Temple Museum, the students reviewed Zhang Liang's legendary ups and downs through stone-carved couplets left by literati of past dynasties, learning historical allusions such as the "Book Granted at the Yi Bridge" and the "Hongmen Banquet," and experiencing traditional garden fun like rubbing inscriptions and making wish cards for blessings on site.
At the Woodworking Academy, the students systematically learned the traditional Chinese art of woodworking through miniature landscapes, solid wood handicrafts, wooden carved maps, digital displays, and other methods, and hands-on experienced the craftsmanship of making wooden combs. Under the guidance of woodworking masters, everyone wielded saws and chisels, meticulously carving, and after processes like polishing and coloring, created combs of various shapes, smooth and rounded.
At Madong East Ditch, the students delved into rural rice fields, recognizing farming tools like curved plowshares and rakes, and learning traditional rice cultivation methods. Undeterred by the mud, everyone stepped into the transplanting area, imitating the farmers by bending down to transplant seedlings and driving oxen to plow the fields, experiencing for the first time the hardship and joy of agricultural labor.
On the sports field of Liuba Middle School, the study tour group formed an "International United Team" and held a unique football friendship match with the Liuba middle school student football team. Everyone made friends through football, upholding the spirit of friendship first and competition second, presenting a vibrant and passionate football "grand match" for the local people!
During the Liuba study tour, the students also visited Zibai Mountain, Shizigou Ranch, Plank Road Fishing Village, and hiked plank roads, immersively experiencing the local natural landscapes, historical and cultural heritage, and folk customs, feeling the unique charm of "Qinling scenery" firsthand. The students had close contact with local villagers, shouting local tunes together, grabbing embroidered balls, dancing the "bench dragon," identifying fruits and vegetables in fields, and visiting Tian Gu Tian Xiang factory to observe the processing of American ginseng and native honey.
The students showed great concern for local green development and rural revitalization work. In a symposium held with the Liuba County Culture and Tourism Bureau, they offered suggestions, deeply analyzing the value positioning and target audience of local ecotourism, precisely distilling key cultural features to enhance based on foreign tourists' interests, and meticulously compiling grammatical errors in English signage at major attractions, receiving high praise from local authorities.
In the ancient capital Xi'an, the students visited the world-famous Terracotta Warriors of Qin Shi Huang's Mausoleum, marveling at the ingenuity and exquisite craftsmanship of ancient laborers; toured the Xi'an Museum, strolled the ancient city walls, deeply feeling the historical accumulation and profound culture of the millennium-old capital. During a night tour of the Datang Everbright City, everyone immersed themselves in the bustling night market illuminated by lights, enjoying splendid court performances, lingering in the dreamlike fusion of modern and classical.
General Secretary Xi Jinping, in his reply to international students at Peking University, encouraged everyone to "travel more around China to gain a deeper understanding of the real China." This meticulously planned study tour by the School of Applied Chinese led foreign international students to dialogue with mountains and rivers, resonate with history, and immerse in the honest and simple Qinling villagers to understand China's national conditions, culture, and local customs. "I hope to speak Chinese more fluently" (Saudi Arabia, Ali Atti), "I will definitely return to Liuba, hoping my Chinese level improves a lot by then, so I can understand more interesting history and culture" (France, Liu Xiaobei)...The wish cards on the ancient trees at Zhang Liang Temple are perhaps fluttering in the wind. The School of Applied Chinese will lead the students to sow more hopes and realize more aspirations!
(Edited by: Wang Wen, Tian Qian)
