Wang Haolan

Holly_cn@163.com

IN April, 25 Generation Z (born between the mid-1990s and early 2010s) students from 23 countries and regions embarked on a cultural exchange tour along the Silk Road, an ancient trade route connecting China with the Middle East and Europe.

The tour, known as “Generation Z 2023: The Future of the Silk Road,” aimed to foster cultural exchange among young people from around the world and to explore the story of the Silk Road. It was hosted by the China Public Relations Association (CPRA) to celebrate this year’s 10th anniversary of the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

Kicking off April 6 at the National Museum of China in Beijing, the tour took the members to the cities of Luoyang in Henan Province, Weinan in Shaanxi Province and Dunhuang in Gansu Province, where they immersed themselves in Chinese culture and explored historical sites along the ancient Silk Road.

During the expedition, the participants were invited to cook a banquet, compose a song, create a Chinese painting and plant trees, the results of which were showcased at a closing ceremony at the Ping An International Finance Center in Shenzhen’s Futian District on Saturday.

“Young people are the main catalyst for global development and play an important role in the dialogue among world civilizations,” Guo Weimin, chairman of CPRA, said at the ceremony. “Through this event, we hope to attract international youth to China, promote greater mutual understanding between China and foreign nations, and empower the younger generation to contribute to building a community with a shared future.”

Road to

sustainable future

At the ceremony, four representatives of the Gen Z participants, along with 15 students from Shenzhen, proposed an initiative on advocating a low-carbon and eco-friendly lifestyle.

Prior to the ceremony, the Gen Zers gained hands-on experience in environmental protection and food waste reduction by clearing invasive plants at the Futian Mangrove Ecological Park and participating in a clean plate campaign at the Southern University of Science and Technology.

While visiting the mangrove park, Visinia Anamaria Faasoesa Ranadi from the Independent State of Samoa, who is now a student at Tiangong University in Tianjin, fondly recalled the mangrove forests of her homeland.     (Continued on P2)