The 3rd cross-Strait youth drama skills cultural exchange and experiencing summer camp opened in Xiamen of east China's Fujian Province on Thursday, bringing together more than 120 middle school teachers and students from both sides of the Taiwan Strait.
The summer camp is scheduled to last six days, during which the young participants will learn, watch, perform drama and play games together.
Many of them were enthusiastic in Thursday's opening ceremony, expressing keen interest in exploring shared cultural heritage.
"I hope our interactions will get better and better, so that we can study different martial arts together and get to know different sects of both sides of the Strait," said Yao Youcheng, a student from Taiwan.
"I was very excited before we set off, because this is my first time in Xiamen. I look forward to communicating with people here and studying a different culture," said Zhang Xiangni, another Taiwan student.
Hung Chang-ning, chairwoman of the Taiwan Dance Arts Exchange Association, pointed out that the activity can help teenagers across the Strait build lasting friendship, discover common roots, and carry forward outstanding traditional Chinese culture.
"By living and working together, the teenagers who had met last year really wanted to see each other again this year. During the process, they shared their understanding of our Minnan culture with each other. Whether it's drama or martial arts, their communications will lead to more diverse elements within the culture," Hong said.
Minnan, literally southern Fujian, has considerable influence in Taiwan as many locals there originated in southern Fujian and speak Minnan dialect.
During the camp, students will also visit cultural landmarks in the cities of Xiamen and Putian to experience Fujian's intangible cultural heritage techniques and the Mazu culture.
Mazu, a central figure in the Minnan culture, is believed to be based on Lin Mo, a legendary woman from Meizhou Island of Fujian who lived in the 10th century and was later deified as a protector of seafarers.
Simultaneously, four short documentaries will be produced during the summer camp to record the stories of young people across the Taiwan Strait engaging in cultural exchanges and learning from each other.
Cross-Strait youth cultural exchange event opens in Xiamen
Zhejiang Province, a major economic powerhouse in east China, has made significant progress in promoting common prosperity over the past five years since being designated as a demonstration zone for this endeavor.
Promoting common prosperity has been a persistent objective of the Communist Party of China (CPC). In 2021, China issued a guideline to build Zhejiang into a demonstration zone to basically achieve common prosperity by 2035.
Zhejiang has since been striving to turn the vision of common prosperity into reality. In the province, the number of relatively underdeveloped mountainous or island counties has dropped from 28 to 22 over the past five years, with their average annual GDP growth outpacing the provincial average.
The province is now home to more than 2,500 national-level smart factories, where industrial robots operate with precision around the clock.
The Ningbo-Zhoushan Port, which links the province to more than 200 other countries and regions worldwide, has a daily throughput of nearly 4 million tons, handling over 120,000 containers every day.
In rural areas, an average of nearly 1 million tourist visits are received each day, showcasing the diverse charm of China's countryside.
"Our approach is to promote free flow of resources and essential factors of production across the province, allowing regions to draw on each other's strengths. We have tailored 'one county, one policy' for each mountainous and island county and developed 'one distinctive industry per county' strategy based on local conditions. We have also encouraged coastal regions and these mountainous-island counties to jointly establish 'development enclaves' to share industrial platforms and sci-tech innovation resources," said Lin Jian, director of the common prosperity promotion division of the Zhejiang Provincial Development and Reform Commission.
Zhejiang has also improved assistance mechanisms, pairing government departments, state-owned enterprises and universities with underdeveloped counties to provide demand-oriented support. Kecheng District in Quzhou City is one such beneficiary.
"Our most pressing challenge is the transformation of traditional industries. The Zhejiang Provincial Department of Economy and Information Technology and other agencies have helped us upgrade and improve the quality of our industries. We have also partnered with Yuhang and Linping districts in Hangzhou to establish cooperative enclaves and enhance our capacity for innovation. Universities have also joined us in setting up innovation labs, boosting our research and development capabilities. These assistance measures have not only removed bottlenecks but also injected new vitality into our development," said Zheng Hang, deputy chief of Kecheng District.
Zhejiang has stimulated the internal driving force for rural development. In Jinyun County, Lishui City, the Jinyun Shaobing, a Chinese-style meat pie with a 650-year history, has been sold to 16 other countries and regions worldwide, contributing to industrial revitalization and promotion of the people's living standards.
"Many young people have returned from cities to the village. They're running homestays and organizing study tours. Even baking shaobing has become an experience activity for tourists. We can now work right at our village. It's great," said Wang Lifen, a villager.
Zhejiang has unveiled its plan for high-quality development during the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026–2030), aiming to further narrow urban-rural gaps and strengthen the internal driving forces of mountainous and island counties.
"Through innovation-driven development and industrial upgrading, we will make the 'cake' bigger and better. While strengthening the material foundation for common prosperity, we will ensure that the fruits of development will benefit more people. We are striving to achieve decisive progress in building the common prosperity demonstration zone through high-quality development by 2030, taking the lead in presenting a vivid picture of basic realization of socialist modernization," said Huang Honghong, member of the leading Party members group of the Zhejiang Provincial Development and Reform Commission.
Zhejiang makes significant progress in promoting common prosperity
