Sister-city friendship flows across young hearts

Zeng Mingming

E ye-catching spring couplets， vigorous calligraphy， delicate papercutting， vivid painting， crafts made with beverage cans and paper and envelopes carefully sealed with beautiful decorations — although they have diverse forms and meanings and were made by different people， they all express the affection and best wishes of Yinchuan No 21 Primary School toward the teachers and students of Compulsory Education School affiliated with the Faculty of Education at Shimane University in Japan’s Shimane Prefecture. The gifts will be mailed to Japan in the near future.

It is a warm episode in the friendly exchanges between the two schools this year， the third year since they began exchanging. In 2020， with support from the Foreign Affairs Office of the Ningxia Hui autonomous region and the Culture and International Department of Shimane， 21PC and CSFESU reached a consensus for friendly exchanges， marking the first move of the inter-school friendship， which also greatly enriched friendly relations between the two.

Though the unexpected COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 put the visit of 21PS to Shimane on hold， the stu- dents from both schools have never forgotten the commitment they made for communication. The Ningxia pupils were deeply touched and cheered by a video greeting from Shimane that read： “May the spring without a pandemic come early， bringing peace and health to mankind.” At that moment， friendship swept through the hearts of the youngsters in both places， and the wish to carry out friendly exchanges became much stronger.

In March 2021， thanks to the joint efforts of government departments and both schools， an online exchange activity between 21PC and CSFESU made a successful debut. Nearly 100 teachers and students met via the internet under the theme “My hometown and I”， with pupils telling stories about growing up in their own hometowns with time-honored history， picturesque landscapes and unique customs.

The youngsters could hardly control their excitement and curiosity， raising questions one after another for their friends on the other side of the internet. With eyes full of expectation and earnest faces， they burst into exclamations and applauses repeatedly. The online exchange brought the hearts of the youngsters much closer and opened a new chapter of friendly exchanges between the two schools.

In April last year， the CSFESU sent videos to 21PS， conveying strong interest in Ningxia and expectations for more exchanges in the future. One of the Japanese students said： “The Tenggeli Desert is amazing， and I wish to see the desert in Ningxia with my own eyes.” Another said： “We would like to become a bridge of hearts connecting China and Japan， and will definitely pass the friendship to the next generation.” Those words were simple， but full of sincerity， showing how much they valued the friendship.

From that time on， the seeds of friendship between Ningxia and Shimane have become deeply rooted in the hearts of those youngsters and have begun to sprout.

One month later， the pupils from 21PC made an album about themselves in return. The 4-centimeter-thick album contains photos， paintings and articles introducing to their Japanese friends the history and culture of thousands of years of Ningxia， its fastgrowing industries and its delicious local cuisine. On the title page they wrote： “We wish， through this album， to enable you to know more about Ningxia， our beloved hometown， and also wish the COVID-19 pandemic to be ended early so we can gather together.” The words expressed great concern about the friends at CSFESU and clearly conveyed their expectation for more exchanges in the future.

Although the pandemic is still severe after more than a year， and the students who took part in the previous year’s exchange activity had advanced to a higher grade， nothing could stop the passion of the two schools’youngsters for more exchanges. The baton of friendship is still passing in a swift and resolute way.

At the beginning of this year， the two governments and schools discussed and planned a new round of exchanges， themed “Better understanding and stronger friendship through exchange of videos”. It has taken about two months and focuses on the daily life and study of students in Ningxia at a deeper level and with more angles. Its purpose is to advance mutual learning and make the youngsters grow up hand-in-hand.

The students from 21PS made a video of the colorful life of winter， interesting customs of Spring Festival， landmark historical relics， clean and neat streets and countless delicious snacks. The video garnered great interest and received strong echoes from the Japanese friends.

The students from CSFESU made a video， too， despite the pandemic sweeping Japan， to introduce their school and share their lives. They greeted the Ningxia students with simple Chinese and English phrases， expressing their kind wishes and inviting their Chinese peers to visit Japan.

For the important role of promoting friendship between Ningxia and Shimane， this round of exchange has been included in the Sino-Foreign Countries People-to-People Exchange Program， and has fostered great confidence among the youngsters by encouraging them to further understand and consolidate their friendship.

According to a Chinese saying，“Real friendship makes distance disappear.” Despite being separated by mountains and oceans and thousands of miles， Ningxia and Shimane developed friendship in a sound and sustained manner， showing infinite vitality and continuously inspiring the two peoples， generation by generation.

Next year will mark the 30th anniversary of the establishment of friendly relations between Ningxia and Shimane. Exchanges between the two schools will definitely be the best gift for the event. The friendship is growing stronger and the youngsters are deeply touched.

Looking ahead to the next 30 years， the friendship between Ningxia and Shimane and the two peoples will continue to develop with great vitality and fruitful results.