Savor authentic cuisine, experience exotic cultures, join a flash mob performance... At Chengdu University (CDU), you can experience the most authentic hustle and bustle of over 20 countries without stepping off campus. Welcome to the 2026 International Cultural and Arts Exchange Festival of CDU.
On October 27, the 2026 International Culture and Arts Exchange Festival of CDU, themed "Youth League · Most YOUNG Chengdu", was held at the Xinkongjian Plaza. Guided by the urban IP "Youth League · Most YOUNG Chengdu", this event serves as a significant initiative for Chengdu to deepen youth-oriented external publicity and elevate its global visibility. It is also a flagship campus culture program. Leveraging CDU's advantages in high-level opening-up of education, the festival has been held for five consecutive years.
The event was guided by the Information Office of Chengdu Municipal People's Government, co-hosted by Chengdu Radio and Television and CDU, and organized by the International Department of the College of Chinese & ASEAN Arts, CDU. Officials from the Exit-Entry Administration Division of Chengdu Public Security Bureau, the Exit-Entry Administration Brigade of Longquanyi District Branch of Chengdu Public Security Bureau, and Shiling Police Station, alongside over 1,000 young participants including Chinese and international teachers and students hailing from more than 20 countries in Asia, Europe, the Americas and Africa, representatives of international students in Chengdu, international students from Chengdu University of Technology, and high school students from the International Department of Chengdu Shude High School, engaged in exchanges and immersive interactions. Together, they enjoyed a multicultural feast of cross-border communication and mutual learning among civilizations on the campus of CDU.
One-Stop Tour of 20+ Countries: Unlock Diverse Cultural Codes at Bustling Booths
At the Xinkongjian Plaza, more than 20 country-specific cultural booths were lined up, bringing together the customs and traditions of five continents in one place. Dressed in colorful traditional ethnic attire, international students acted as "cultural ambassadors," confidently and enthusiastically showcasing unique traditional handicrafts, intangible cultural heritage items, and folk specialties. From crafting traditional Latvian straw ornaments (Puzuris) on-site and experiencing Malaysian henna art, to singing folk songs with Russian students, learning about Lao boat racing festival traditions, and playing the Vietnamese "Nem Con" ball-throwing game... Faculty and students enjoyed a one-stop journey to explore diverse world cultures.
The air was filled with the mouthwatering aromas of authentic exotic delicacies. Through carefully designed interactive challenges at each booth, teachers and students unlocked opportunities to taste authentic treats by participating in fun quizzes and folk games. Flavours of Southeast Asian spices, rich European desserts, and distinctive specialty drinks danced on their taste buds, filling the entire plaza with a vibrant, festive international atmosphere.
Art Co-Creation: Seeds of Diversity, Splendor for All
As a signature collaborative program of the event, "Seeds of Diversity · Chinese and International Youth Art Co-Creation" drew crowds of faculty and students. The program creatively adopts representative plants from various countries as cultural symbols, weaving together natural landscapes and ecological memories across the world.
Young Chinese and foreign participants jointly created a Tree of Culture using eco-friendly materials. Complementing the art installation was the immensely popular "Seed Hunt" taking place on site. Holding exclusive "Seeds of Diversity" plant collection cards, participants navigated booths to complete interactive tasks and collect stickers featuring distinctive plants from different countries. This not only allowed them to cast valuable votes for their favorite booths, but also enabled those who had collected all the stickers to redeem a seed gift pack. In this way, they brought wonderful memories of the event back into their daily lives, letting friendship and hope continue to flourish.
Folk Micro-Theater + Artistic Flash Mob: Zero-Distance Interaction to Encounter Voices of the World
International students transformed blessing rituals passed down through generations in their home countries into tangible, immersive experiences—tying silk cords symbolizing good fortune around wrists, drawing auspicious patterns, and more—allowing each participant to feel the warmth of distant civilizations amidst the surprise of “opening a blind box”.
At 12:30 p.m., an international flash mob performance instantly electrified the crowd. Thai students took the lead with the opening dance "Dazzling Thailand." Students from Laos, Nepal, Indonesia, Mongolia, Vietnam, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, and other countries followed with folk dances and multilingual songs. Russian students presented a blended performance featuring solo singing, chorus, and dance, students from Madagascar sang the Chinese song "A Little Happiness", earning rounds of warm applause. When students from Türkiye, Colombia, and Indonesia jointly performed the classic Chinese song "Tian Mi Mi", the familiar melody immediately resonated with everyone. Teachers and students present clapped along to the rhythm and danced freely. For the grand finale, international students from various countries put on a celebratory dance, warmly inviting the audience to join in. In the grand finale, international students from various countries put on a celebratory dance and warmly invited the audience to join in, driving the cultural exchange festival toward an exhilarating climax of an international youth sing-along.
Matrix-based Omnichannel Communication: Using Youth as a Bridge to Tell the World the Story of "Most YOUNG Chengdu"
This festival is not only an immersive campus cultural carnival, but also a vivid demonstration of youth empowering the city's international communication. At the event, young international “social media influencers” from Nigeria, Vietnam, Nepal, Russia, Laos, and other countries mingled with Chinese student bloggers. Through vivid first-person perspectives, engaging multilingual short videos, and live streams on international social media platforms, they trained their cameras on the lively flash mob performance, the authentic and inviting food booths, and the genuine smiles of teachers and students. In doing so, they have transmitted in real time the authentic experiences of international youth in Chengdu and the city's open, inclusive, down-to-earth vibrancy to audiences at home and abroad, showcasing a vibrant, youthful Chengdu to the world.
From a silk cord bearing blessings to a shared canvas; from a taste crossing oceans to a chorus transcending borders, Chinese and international youth gathered through art and and forge bonds in youth. Moving forward, CDU will continue to deepen high-standard opening-up in education, burnish its brand for people‑to‑people and cultural exchanges between China and foreign countries, and build more high-level platforms for mutual learning among global youth, allowing the world to witness an ever more open, inclusive, and vibrant city amidst the lively encounters of diverse cultures!
Editor: Min Xiuling Executive Editor: Lyu Jia
