Student from Dominican Republic shares colorful experience traveling around China

A young student from the Dominican Republic has shared her colorful journey across major Chinese cities and sites during her one-year stay in the country for a master's degree.

Rua, a 23-year-old woman from the sunny Caribbean island nation, embarked on a solo journey to China in 2025, moving from Santo Domingo to Beijing.

In her recap of her travels, she said it has been a year of firsts for her as she became an actress, learned to ride a bicycle, and enrolled in a master's degree program in directing at the Beijing Film Academy.

"For the first time, I came to Beijing to study the career of my dreams, directing at Beijing Film Academy," she said.

Arriving in a new country, she naturally faced numerous challenges, but what she felt most was the joy of exploration. She made the most of her time in China by traveling extensively, from the seashore of Qingdao to the grasslands of Inner Mongolia, and from cosmopolitan Shanghai to the ancient capital of Nanjing.

"More than ever before this year, I've had the opportunity to travel around China, and wow, what an experience it has been," she said.

Each city brought a unique charm to her journey, while all of her destinations showcased China's profound culture, which deeply fascinated her. The people, the harmony between tradition and modernity, and the country's broad development opportunities captured her heart in a short time.

Rua specially recalled her experience of celebrating the Spring Festival with a Chinese family, which left a deep and warm impression on her.

"This year, I also had the opportunity to celebrate Chinese New Year in Fujian, Fuzhou, with a family that more or less adopted me, or at least sentimentally," she said.

"I remember that on New Year's Eve, we went to their hometown in Fujian and together we cooked in the afternoon, preparing for the dinner. We watched TV, eating fruits, eating snacks. We talked and then when the night came, everyone in the family sat together in round tables enjoying a drink, eating the specialty seafood, laughing. And later on in the night, the young people assembled and we went to set off fireworks in the street. It was a really fun experience and also a very memorable day for me," Rua recalled.

With many adventures ahead of her, the young woman said she has made up her mind that China is where she wants to stay for many years.

Student from Dominican Republic shares colorful experience traveling around China

Singapore's Parliament Speaker Seah Kian Peng on Monday praised China's remarkable pace of change and urged like‑minded nations to speak with a strong, consistent voice for multilateralism during his visit to Beijing.

Invited by China's National People's Congress Standing Committee, Seah has concluded a six‑day visit that took him from southeast China's Fujian Province to Beijing, where he engaged Chinese lawmakers and business leaders on pressing governance challenges and economic cooperation.

In an interview with China Global Television Network (CGTN), Seah described his visit as both productive and revealing, noting that each stop underscored China's rapid transformation and the opportunities it presents for deeper cooperation.

"What did not surprise me was the pace of change has been. Each time I come to China, you can see that things have moved. It reflects the dynamism. It reflects the high energy of the people. It also reflects how the society here has embraced innovation, has embraced technology, and also understands the need to transform and to change," said Seah.

"I'm quite sure that Chinese companies as well as joint venture companies here, have found the business environment here interesting, and with the enthusiasm to embrace innovation, to adopt technology, I think a lot of new solutions will be found. This can only be good for people, good for the community, and good for the world," he added.

In a world of growing uncertainty, Singapore and China remain committed to free trade and multilateralism, and see the upcoming APEC and ASEAN chairships as a chance to rally like-minded partners, Seah emphasized.

"Unfortunately, in the current geopolitical environment, uncertainties are more prevalent, certainly more conflicts in the world than ever before. But we are happy that close partners, like Singapore and China and other like-minded partners, we support free trade, we support multilateralism," he said.

"I am cautiously optimistic that, notwithstanding the current geopolitical environment, we can gather more like-minded countries and partners to join us on this journey, and speak out with a strong, clear, consistent voice," Seah noted.

Singapore Speaker hails China’s rapid change, urges strong voice for multilateralism