Yearlong activity encourages students to share stories of China's development

A yearlong program encouraging Generation-Z students to share stories about China with the world is set to begin, the city's government announced on Thursday.

Hundreds of Chinese and international students from seven universities, such as Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Fudan University and Shanghai University, took part in the launching ceremony at Shanghai Library.

A series of activities, including speech contests and forums, about international communication will be held this year, letting the young generation explain the changes they've witnessed in China.

Liu Zijian, a student at Shanghai Normal University majoring in broadcasting and hosting, said he was interested in the activities.

"When I was learning Spanish , I always introduced Chinese physical and classical culture to my Spanish friends but they failed to understand it sometimes," he said. "I'm trying to practice my storytelling skills."

Sumitra Rangdle, a Thai student at the Shanghai International Studies University, has studied Chinese for four years and has been in China for two months. She shared many novelties and favorites on social media, such as convenient transportation and Sichuan hot pot.

"My friends and families in Thailand were surprised by the vigorous elderly people when they saw the square dance video I shot in a park in Shanghai," she said. "Senior citizens in my country are too shy to dance in public."

"After I graduate this year, I want to be a bank worker and I'm willing to stay in China for the rest of my life," she added.

Everyone has stories and each real experience is worth sharing in a way that people from other countries can understand and accept, experts in the field of international communication told students at the event.

The activity is hosted by the International Communication Division of the Shanghai Information Office and China Daily, and organized by 21st Century Newspapers.