Find China in Guizhou

My name is Nizar Islam, a Pakistani student from the Yangzhou Polytechnic Institute. This year, the institute provided me with an opportunity to participate in the "2021 Zhi & Xing Guizhou Silk Road Youth Exchange Program - A Cultural Experience Tour in Colourful Guizhou", which started on Sept 24 in Southwest China's Guizhou province.

I believe this program is an unforgettable, happy, and rewarding trip, and will be something I never forget. In just a few days, we saw a completely different side of China and Guizhou.

Traditional Chinese culture has experienced many changes throughout history and accumulated more than 5,000 years of wisdom experience. Through the program, we experienced the essence of Chinese culture, such as Chinese medicine and tea, witnessed Guizhou's beautiful mountains and rivers and unique geomorphology, and learned about its unique ethnic culture.

We also experienced silver ornaments, hand-built black tea, handmade batik, Miao mud whistles, ancient papermaking, and other intangible cultural heritage projects.

The program allowed us to overcome stereotypes of Guizhou caused by ignorance, feel the enterprising and inclusive nature of the Guizhou people, and understand the spirituality of Guizhou culture.

I enjoy interacting with Chinese people and hope to become an ambassador between China and my home country.

At the International Youth Student Forum, teachers set up a platform for us to share stories about our experiences in China. We international students have witnessed China's development, and told the world what we really think of this beautiful country.

China provides us not only with knowledge and skills, but also a second home. We will work to enhance the international influence of Chinese culture and become the most dynamic link between China and the world.

I would hereby like to thank all the officials, teachers, and volunteers at Guizhou University for their assistance over the past few days. I also want to thank my own teachers and classmates for providing me with this opportunity.

By participating in this event, we can learn more about Guizhou, enhance our friendship, and achieve the unity of "knowledge" and "action". In the future, we will serve as tellers of Chinese stories and become disseminators of Chinese culture around the world.

The author is a student from the Yangzhou Polytechnic Institute in Yangzhou, East China's Jiangsu province.