Recently, the 2025 "My Beautiful Encounter with China" Essay and Short Video Competition, guided by Department of International Cooperation and Exchanges of Ministry of Education and hosted by Chinese Service Center for Scholarly Exchange, has come to a successful conclusion. Three entries submitted by international department of college of Chinese & ASEAN Arts stood out from 3,007 contributions across 137 countries and regions worldwide, winning one Second Prize, one Third Prize and one Excellence Award.
The competition aims to vividly tell Chinese stories through the perspectives of international teachers and students, and demonstrate the achievements of national conditions education for international students in China. After online voting and expert evaluation, the participating team from international department achieved outstanding results with profound thematic conception and exquisite artistic expression. The award details are as follows:
Second Prize (Bridge of Civilizations): Boundless Countryside, Shared Art by ALEXANDRA STELLA CLOSE (Canadian expert);
Third Prize (Beauty of Light and Shadow): A Sachet, A Cultural Journey by NGUYEN THI NGOC HAN (2023 Radio and Television Editing & Directing, Vietnamese);
Excellence Award (Beauty of Light and Shadow): Dedication on the Frontline of Rural Revitalization by DARREN CHANDRA SETIAWAN (2023 Radio and Television Editing & Directing, Indonesian), ONG XIN NING (2023 Radio and Television Editing & Directing, Malaysian), ANASTASIIA IVANOVA (2024 Radio and Television Editing & Directing, Russian).
In-depth Field Research to Practice Practical Education
The award-winning works Boundless Countryside, Shared Art and Dedication on the Frontline of Rural Revitalization are both rooted in Shuanghe Village of Jiuzhaigou County, the university’s targeted assistance unit, serving as typical achievements of the project-based independent inquiry learning promoted by international department. During the research, international teachers and students went deep into rural areas. By interviewing grassroots cadres, homestay operators and local artists, they fully explored vivid practices of university-local cooperation in empowering rural revitalization. Inspired by rural wall paintings created by local painter Wang Lining as well as teachers and students from Fine Arts and Design School of college of Chinese & ASEAN Arts, Chengdu University, foreign expert ALEXANDRA STELLA CLOSE shared global experience in art-driven rural development based on her own experience, which gave birth to the work Boundless Countryside, Shared Art.
In Dedication on the Frontline of Rural Revitalization, international students DARREN CHANDRA SETIAWAN, ONG XIN NING and ANASTASIIA IVANOVA captured China’s solutions and rural transformation through their lenses. NGUYEN THI NGOC HAN’s work A Sachet, A Cultural Journey takes traditional Chinese medicine sachets as the entry point, delicately presenting the charm of fine traditional Chinese culture.
Furthering the "Haicheng China Awareness" Program and Building a "Mobile Ideological and Political Course"
These awards fully reflect the outcomes of international department’s "Haicheng China Awareness" national conditions education system and the development of Chengdu University’s exemplary team for comprehensive reform of holistic education. Through the "mobile ideological and political course", international teachers and students deeply perceive the vivid connotation of Chinese-style modernization in immersive practice. They have transformed themselves from witnesses to narrators, effectively enhancing the international influence of the "Study at Chengdu University" brand.
Looking Ahead: Forging People-to-People Bonds through Art
Moving forward, international department of college of Chinese & ASEAN Arts will continue to advance international people-to-people and cultural exchanges. Relying on national conditions education platforms, it will guide more international teachers and students to explore China and create works rooted in real life. Taking imagery and culture as bridges, the college will present a true, three-dimensional and comprehensive China to the world, contributing youthful strength to mutual learning between Chinese and foreign civilizations and the building of a community with a shared future for mankind.
