Chinese and Italian Youth Launching a Cross-Continent Cultural Dialogue

From May 5 to 15, Chongqing Nankai Liangjiang Secondary School and Italy’s Cesare Balbo High School co-hosted an exchange project titled “China-Italy Education & Cultural Exchange for Youth”. A total of 22 Italian teachers and students, accompanied by renowned photographer Elena Givone, set foot in Chongqing to embark on a cross-continental cultural dialogue through homestays, classrooms, and city explorations.

Building Cross-Cultural Bridges Through Joint Platforms and Multi-Party Collaboration

During the event, Chongqing Nankai Liangjiang Secondary School and Cesare Balbo High School established a sister-school partnership. The principals led delegations to visit Foreign Affairs Office of Chongqing Municipal People’s Government (Chongqing FAO). Feng Zimin, Deputy Director-General of Chongqing FAO engaged in discussions on enhancing cultural exchanges and cooperation.

On behalf of Chongqing FAO, Feng Zimin congratulated the schools on their official partnership and the success of this exchange project. He expressed hopes for further collaboration in economy and trade, culture and tourism, education and training, and people-to-people exchanges.

Emanuela Cavallie, principal of the Cesare Balbo High School expressed gratitude to Chongqing Foreign Affairs Service Center and Elena Givone for facilitating the exchange. She said that Italian teachers and students would return home with vivid impressions of Chongqing and share their experiences of Chongqing and China with their families and friends.

“Chongqing has long been connected to my career in city photography and art. Once again, it has proven to be a source of inspiration for cultural dialogue.” Elena stated. This event demonstrated that art and culture are bonds that help build a better world, serving as a bridge connecting two countries.

Cultural Exchange and Traditional Aesthetics Enhancing Connectivity of Civilizations

During their stay in Chongqing, Italian teachers and students visited Chongqing Nankai Liangjiang Secondary School, where they immersed themselves in traditional Chinese cultural classes and experienced the beauty of the East.

Under the guidance of Liu Jifen, an inheritor of Rongchang Pottery, a national intangible cultural heritage, Italian teachers and students shaped moist clay in their palms, engaging in a dialogue with millennia-old craftsmanship.

In the traditional Chinese painting class, sheets of Xuan paper were laid out as Italian teachers and students picked up their brushes and applied ink, sketching flowers and fruits with tentative strokes. With each press and turn of the brush, they experienced the aesthetic essence of capturing both form and spirit.

In the martial arts class, they experienced the perfect blend of strength and rhythm through punches and kicks, grasping the essence of martial arts through agile movements and swift transitions.

“The sun is rising, bringing joy and cheer…” In the music class, they sang traditional folk songs in a tentative yet heartfelt attempt at the Chongqing dialect, feeling the vibrant spirit of the Chongqing people through lively rhythms.

At Chongqing Vocational College of Art and Engineering in Tongliang District, Italian teachers and students visited the faculty AE exhibition and student art exhibition, and experienced traditional Chinese musical instruments. They also went to the Rongchang and University Town campuses of Chongqing City Management College, where they practiced Ba Duan Jin (one of the Chinese health Qigong exercises) and tried rubbing techniques, an intangible cultural heritage.

Chongqing’s magnificent landscapes composed a moving symphony for this journey of cultural exchange.

At the Chongqing China Three Gorges Museum, Italian teachers and students explored the unique charm of ancient civilization through bronzes designed in the shape of a tiger. Amid the bamboo groves of Chongqing Zoo, they encountered the beloved “Chinese diplomatic star”—pandas—and couldn’t stop taking photos with their phones.

The weekends spent with host families offered a more personalized kind of romance. Hanfu photo shoots on Chongqing Republic Street captured a dramatic fusion of Roman Holiday and In the Mood for Love; on Nanbin Road, dazzling drone shows lit up the night sky and teenagers’ excited screams rose above the sound of the rushing river; along the old alleyways of Xiahaoli, Chinese and Italian friends explored the undulating terrain of the mountain city step by step; and around bubbling and aromatic hotpot, tears from the spicy heat mingled with bursts of joyful laughter.

“I’ve studied Chinese, Chinese history and culture at school, but in Chongqing, I got to practice speaking, taste authentic Chinese cuisine, and experience a way of learning and living that’s so different from that of Italy. I’ll never forget this wonderful experience,” said Giorgia Capra, a student from Cesare Balbo High School.

Photo/Chongqing Nankai Liangjiang Secondary School

By He Yu/The World and Chongqing