Taiwan students visit historical sites in Tianjin for exchange program

Teachers and students involved in a week-long program in Tianjin that explores modern Chinese history pose for a group photo. （Photo by Yan Dongjie / chinadaily.com.cn）

A group of students from Taiwan has begun a week-long program in Tianjin that explores modern Chinese history and includes exchanges with local students and visits to historical sites across the northern port city.

Tianjin Foreign Studies University and Chung Hua University in Taiwan jointly organized the program, now in its 11th year. "This activity provides a solid platform for strengthening mutual understanding and fostering friendship among young people on both sides," said Hu Zhigang, deputy Party secretary of Tianjin Foreign Studies University.

Twenty-two Taiwan students joined this year's program. The itinerary brought them to the Dagukou Fort Ruins Museum, the Liang Qichao Former Residence, and the Tianjin Huoyuanjia School.

Students from Taiwan experience Sanda martial arts in Tianjin. （Photo by Yan Dongjie / chinadaily.com.cn）

"This approach enables exchanges at ideological, cultural, and emotional levels through a dialogue between history and reality," said Chong Yi-ho, the leading teacher from Chung Hua University.

Several students said the hands-on learning made a strong impression. Chen Yu-chien described the martial arts culture at Huoyuanjia School as "novel and vivid", adding that experiencing it directly was far more engaging than reading about it.

Another student, Chen Mao-yu, said the visit to the Dagukou Fort Ruins Museum helped him better understand the pressures and sacrifices of defenders at that time. "Seeing the site in person and hearing the stories made the history in textbooks much more real," he said.