From 21 to 28 December 2017, the 2017 ASEAN-China Youth Winter Camp, hosted by ASEAN-China Centre (ACC) and organized by Jilin University (JLU), was successfully held in Changchun, Jilin province, and Harbin, Heilongjiang province.

As ACC’s flagship project for 2017, the Winter Camp aimed at taking the opportunities of the 50th anniversary of ASEAN and the ASEAN-China year of Tourism Cooperation to further strengthen the communication and exchanges among the youths of China, ASEAN countries, Japan and RoK, deepen mutual understanding and enhance friendship among youths with different education backgrounds, disciplines and experiences, thus to lay a more solid social and public opinion foundation for the all-round and in-depth development of ASEAN-China relations, as well as regional cooperation in East Asia.

The programmes of Winter Camp was tightly arranged and colorful with four-part activities including ice and snow experience, academic exchanges, visits of historic and cultural relics, and faculty and students interaction. Ice and snow experience was main activity of Winter Camp, which possessed unique characteristics of the Northeastern China, for instance, skiing, ice lantern, snow sculpture, white Christmas, and presented the most striking ice and snow world to the campers. The academic exchange activities under the themes of JLU Impression and the Belt and Road Initiative showcased the achievements of China high education development. The visits of JLU’s library, history exhibition and museum deepened understanding of campers on Chinese universities. Through close communication and interaction with the faculty members and students of JLU, the campers experienced strong academic atmosphere and good cultural environment of Chinese university. The students of JLU also learned more about the cultures of ASEAN countries, Japan and RoK, as well as the features of the students of these countries, all of which enhanced the students’ exchanges and communication. The visits of the Museum of the Imperial Palace of the Manchu State and Saint Sophia Cathedral opened a window for the campers to understand the history and culture of China, especially the northeastern part of China. The food of Manchu, Chinese Korean ethnic group and Chinese Russian ethnic group made the campers experience the authentic cuisine culture in northeastern China. The wonderful and colorful gathering and informative wrap-up seminar fully showcased the talents and knowledge of the campers, and made the campers feel charm of different cultures in a relaxed and happy atmosphere.

The Winter Camp was another innovative activity of ACC in supporting and facilitating exchanges among young students and universities, in which 33 campers from China, ASEAN countries, Japan and RoK participated. All campers praised ACC’s great efforts in promoting ASEAN-China people-to-people exchanges, particularly youth exchanges, and thanked JLU as the organizer for the enormous and hard work to make the event possible. The campers expected that there would be more chances to visit China to attend this kind of activities, make more friends and know more about China.