On July 8, the opening ceremony of the Shanghai International Sister Cities Youth Summer Camp was held at Jinyuan Senior High School in Shanghai. Vice Mayor of Shanghai, Xie Dong, attended the event and presented the camp flag to the representatives of the campers. Other attendees included Wang Ping, secretary-general of the Shanghai Municipal People's Government; Zhou Yaming, director of the Shanghai Municipal Education Commission, and Ye Linlin, deputy director; Liu Guangyong, deputy director of the Shanghai Municipal Foreign Affairs Office; Zhou Yan, deputy secretary of the CPC Putuo District Committee, and Wang Jue, deputy district director; Jiang Haishan, president of the Shanghai Education International Exchange Association; Sha Jun, director of the Office of the Shanghai Municipal Education Commission; Zhou Qinjian, director of the International Exchange Division of the Shanghai Municipal Education Commission; Qian Xiaoli, deputy minister of the Putuo District Committee's Publicity Department, director of the Cyberspace Administration, and director of the District Information Office; Hu Jun, secretary of the Party Committee for Education Work in Putuo District; and Zhao Ping, deputy secretary of the Party Committee for Education Work and director of the Education Bureau in Putuo District.
At the opening ceremony, city and district leaders, along with guests, pressed the start button together to embark on an exciting journey for the summer camp.
Since 2009, the Shanghai Municipal Education Commission has hosted the "Shanghai International Sister Cities Youth Summer Camp" activity, providing an important platform for youth from Shanghai's international sister cities to communicate and forge friendships. The opening ceremony invited officials and representatives from consulates and offices of Uzbekistan, Sri Lanka, Slovakia, Australia, Ireland, Switzerland, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Thailand, Mexico, France, Japan, Finland, and other countries in Shanghai, as well as representatives from relevant district education bureaus, high school principals, teachers, and student volunteers. They joined 18 foreign student teams from 17 of Shanghai's international sister cities to start the annual exchange event for youth from sister cities.
Before the opening ceremony, the campers and student volunteers participated in an intangible heritage market event meticulously prepared by 10 schools from Putuo District. Chinese and foreign teenagers engaged with inheritors of intangible cultural heritage projects such as lanterns, bamboo weaving, paper-cutting, kites, and Zhu's rope art, experiencing the charm of Chinese intangible cultural heritage. On-site, the lively Chinese drum performance "Qin Wang Dian Bing" and dragon and lion dances by Putuo students attracted foreign campers to stop and interact with the performing students.
At the opening ceremony, Putuo students presented a performance that integrated Han and Tang Dynasty dances with traditional Peking Opera art, titled "Han Dance and Beijing Rhythm." French campers performed the classic song "Champs-Élysées," perfectly interpreting the unique charm of Eastern and Western cultures, each beautiful in its own way, and sharing beauty together.
Finally, all campers sang "We Are the World," conveying a common wish and expressing good wishes. It is believed that this summer camp will allow teenagers from all over the world to gain friendship, knowledge, and growth, and work together to create a better future for humanity.
The 2024 Sister Cities Youth Summer Camp has arranged a variety of activities with rich content, including traditional culture course experiences, visits to Shanghai's landmark buildings, visits and studies at cultural venues, a one-day experience of Shanghai life, and several projects on urban design and creation. During the event, teenagers from various countries will experience traditional culture courses such as martial arts, porcelain carving, New Year paintings, tie-dyeing, lanterns, and Hanfu, to understand Chinese culture and feel its connotations; visit urban landmarks such as the Oriental Pearl TV Tower, the Pujiang tour, Yuyuan Garden, and Putuo Half Marathon Suzhou Creek Park to understand and learn about the culture of the Shanghai school, and feel the development and urban charm of Shanghai; go into volunteer families to "be a Shanghai person for a day," to deeply experience the life atmosphere of Shanghai citizens; visit universities, the Shanghai Museum, the Shanghai Astronomy Museum, participate in youth forums, and carry out fun activities and practical exercises at the Oriental Land... Teenagers from various countries will enhance friendship and understanding and share a common aspiration for a good life during this process.
