Students from Huaqiao University draw in Minning, Ningxia Hui autonomous region. [Chen Ting/For Chinadaily.com.cn]
Traveling more than 2,000 miles from southern China, 42 students and six teachers from Huaqiao University in Fujian province came to Minning, Ningxia Hui autonomous region over the summer break as part of an outdoor art project organized by the university.
The 42 students, including eight from the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and Taiwan, were separated into three groups for their 18-day stay, which began on July 17.
The main task for them was to draw pictures on the walls of Yuanlong village — 2,000 square meters — choosing subjects based on local history and customs.
It was Daniel Liang's first visit to Ningxia, which he always thought was a desolate, cold place. That changed after he arrived in Minning. He noted the government had turned Minning into a beautiful place in a relatively short time and felt lucky and proud to have been born in China.
In April, the Minning government and Huaqiao University reached an agreement to cooperate in tourism planning, e-commerce and training and development of intellectual property. The project Liang joined was the first experiment under the agreement.
Huang Lu, a student and staff member of the university's student union, said, "We were worried about the living conditions here and brought many daily necessities with us. But things here turned out much better than we thought."
Before they started the artwork, a tour to the local exhibition center was organized for them to learn more about local history.
Wu Chia-en, a student from Taiwan was astonished by the before-and-after photos of Minning.
"The development of Minning is a joint effort under Fujian and Ningxia, and we came to consolidate their effort to make it a better place. It is my pleasure to be part of it and feel the bond between the two places firsthand," Wu said.
Law Ho-tin from the Hong Kong SAR expressed similar feelings. Born and raised in southern China, Law was impressed by the lofty Helan Mountain and the Yellow River.
Residents and their children welcomed their guests. On the first two days, the children would sit on stools and observe the artists at work. Gradually, the children joined in, and villagers serve ice cream and hot tea, Wang Jun-ding, another student said.