“How can China have such a beautiful airport?” That’s the question blurted out from nine Boston University students when their plane landed at Terminal 3 at Beijing Capital International Airport. It was seven years ago, but the scene remains etched in the memory of Huang Huilin, director of the Academy for International Communication of Chinese Culture (AICCC) at the Beijing Normal University and founder of the Looking China Youth Film Project.
Organized by the AICCC and supported financially by the Huilin Foundation of the Beijing Normal University, the project gives young foreigners the opportunity to immerse themselves in Chinese culture, and then to express and share their impressions through videos. This initiative has been carried out annually since 2011, and it has garnered acclaim both in China and abroad. Today, it is a flagship project revealing the charm of China and showcasing the country’s culture.
During these seven years, over 400 young foreigners of various cultural backgrounds from some 40 countries came to China as part of their participation in the project. From the prosperous metropolises to the more remote western regions (Gansu and Ningxia), and from the three northeastern provinces (Heilongjiang, Jilin, and Liaoning) to the colorful southwestern provinces (Yunnan, Guizhou, and Sichuan) with diverse landscapes, they covered each of these regions and objectively recorded China as it stood before their eyes.
This is not only a new medium of international cultural exchanges, but a valuable personal experience as well as a journey of discovery to China.
Third Pole Culture
“Chinese culture is the legacy and continuity of a civilization of 5,000 years that has absorbed and been inspired by the quintessence of foreign cultures, and been further forged by Chinese revolutionary culture over the past century or more. And finally, along with contemporary European culture and American culture, the “third pole culture,” Chinese culture with socialist characteristics, has emerged, said Huang Huilin, a sprightly lady at the age of 85.
This story is from the January 2019 edition of China Today (English).
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This story is from the January 2019 edition of China Today (English).
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
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