Xinhua News Agency reporter Wang Yachen Wen New Year Song Rui

  Spring is bright, the mountains are full of flowers, and the winding Juyongguan Great Wall rises and falls with the curves of the mountains.

  "Grandpa Xi, my wish to come to China to climb the Great Wall has come true!" Facing the warm spring, 16-year-old UAE middle school student Ahmed Mohamed (Chinese name: Xiaohu), raised his mobile phone to take a selfie, and incorporated his youthful smile into the bright spring scenery: "I will come for the second and third time!"

  In the spring of 2024, 40 representatives of primary and secondary school students from the UAE's "100 Schools Project" demonstration schools, Hamdan School and Yas School, wrote a letter to President Xi Jinping in Chinese to express his yearning and love for Chinese culture and determined to be the envoys of friendship between China and Afghanistan. At that time, Xiaohu wrote his wish into the letter: "I want to climb the Great Wall, I want to see the giant panda."

  "You are welcome to come to China to see pandas and climb the Great Wall. When you grow up, you will go to China to study Chinese and understand China. You are also welcome to exchange and communicate with Chinese youth, learn from each other, and root the seeds of friendship in your heart and contribute to the creation of a better tomorrow for China-Arab relations." President Xi Jinping's warm message in his reply letter.

  When receiving Grandpa Xi's reply letter, Xiaohu was "excited and moved" and "hopefully went to China to see it immediately."

  From April 5 to 11, at the invitation of Tianjin Foreign Studies University, Xiaohu and his partners came to China for exchange and study. For the children, this is an unforgettable "dream fulfillment" journey.

  A journey to deepen friendship

  The letters written by the children to Grandpa Xi are full of pictures and texts, among which friendship is a keyword. "I hope China and Afghanistan will always be good friends." "Although China and the UAE are thousands of miles apart, we are the best friends" - the words express the younger generation's expectations for the friendship between the two countries.

  It's another good spring. On April 6, standing on the Great Wall, Hamdan Ahmed, an UAE student who loves Chinese Kung Fu, deliberately wore a brand new Chinese costume and performed a set of Chinese Kung Fu, with every move and every move that was quite imposing. "I want to learn Chinese and more kung fu in China!" Hamdan is also a table tennis enthusiast and keeps playing ball all day long. He looks forward to this opportunity to play football skills with his Chinese friends.

  On April 6, UAE student Hamdan Ahmed performed Chinese Kung Fu at the Great Wall of Juyongguan, Beijing. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Hu Zhenze

  "I hope to make friends with friendly and lovely Chinese peers, sing, practice Tai Chi, and take selfies together." Maria Ahmed is full of expectations for this visit to China for exchanges and study. Before she came to China, she thought about wearing beautiful and elegant traditional Arab costumes to leave a good impression on her Chinese friends.

  "Hello, old friend, I'm here again! I'm on the Great Wall, the scenery here is so beautiful!" Bashayer Omar couldn't wait to contact his Chinese friends and share the beautiful scenery and mood in the video call. Behind her, flowers bloomed in the trees, just like the smiles of two young partners.

  14-year-old Bashayere is already an "old friend" of China. Previously, during her study in China, she learned to practice calligraphy, Chinese painting, and Chinese Kung Fu. She said that she treasured that happy time on her phone and couldn't bear to delete a single photo. She made two Chinese friends and contacted them every now and then via WeChat.

  On April 6, UAE student Bashayer Omar bought souvenirs at the Beijing Olympic Museum souvenir shop. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Hu Zhenze

  In Beijing, she has prepared many gifts for her relatives and friends in the UAE: Chinese beautiful refrigerator stickers, Chinese small hats, giant panda keychain, cups with Great Wall patterns and commemorative coins... At the souvenir shop of the Beijing Olympic Museum, she was exposed to Chinese trendy toys for the first time and loved the cute blind box doll "Long Dundu".

  Perceive China's journey

  In July 2019, under the joint witness of President Xi Jinping and then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, UAE, Mohamed, China and UAE signed a memorandum in Beijing to officially launch the "100 Schools Project" for Chinese teaching in the UAE. In 2024, President Xi Jinping wrote in a reply letter to the children, "Now I have seen that 'learning Chinese' has become a new trend in the UAE, and I am very pleased to have cultivated a group of small Chinese-Arab exchanges like you."

  On April 6, UAE students experienced a simulated ice hockey experience at the Beijing Olympic Museum. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Hu Zhenze

  Since receiving the reply letter, sixth-grade student Fatima Marzuki has been "thinking about Grandpa Xi's words" and is more motivated to learn Chinese. This trip to China opened a window for her to personally feel China. She and her classmates visited the Beijing Olympic Museum and the National Stadium "Bird's Nest" to experience "curling" and simulated "alpine skiing". The children shouted: "The experience is great", "The equipment and technology are really advanced", "Extremely creative, amazing!"　　

  Xiaohu dreamed that he would experience the speed of China: "I heard that China's high-speed rail is fast, convenient and safe, and I am very interested." On the afternoon of the 7th, the children's wish came true: they took the high-speed rail to Tianjin from Beijing South Railway Station.

  On April 7, an UAE student took a cell phone to photograph the scenery outside the window on the high-speed rail from Beijing to Tianjin Station. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Hu Zhenze

  As soon as the "Social Bull" Hamdan Zayed got on the bus, he excitedly greeted the Chinese passengers sitting next to him in Chinese. Looking at the scenery outside the window, he called himself "realizing his dream." Hamdan Ahmed, who carried a table tennis racket with him, was very happy to learn that he could arrive in Tianjin in about half an hour: "You can play table tennis with your Chinese friends soon!" Khalifa Khalid said that China's high-speed rail is both efficient and environmentally friendly, "I hope more countries can run the high-speed rail."

  A journey towards the future

  On the campus of Tianjin Foreign Studies University, the crabapple is in full bloom and full of greenery. At the opening ceremony of this exchange and learning project, representatives of Chinese and Arab students exchanged youth greetings with wonderful performances: Chinese national instruments played "South of the Clouds", Chinese and Arab bilingual singing "We Are All the same", and the brightly paced traditional UAE dance ignited the event site...

  Next, this group of UAE teenagers will also go to other schools in Tianjin to experience Chinese teaching in an immersive way and take the Chinese proficiency test.

  On April 7, UAE students performed traditional dances live at the opening ceremony held by Tianjin Foreign Studies University. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Hu Zhenze

  "This exchange and learning journey has built a bridge of friendship between the younger and middle-aged Afghans," Fatima Ahmed Bastaki, executive director of the "100 Schools Project" of Chinese Teaching in the UAE for nearly 40 years and has been committed to promoting Chinese teaching in the UAE for a long time. She said: "I hope this valuable experience will inspire students to become little messengers of Arab-China cultural exchanges and help deepen dialogue and cooperation between the two countries."

  "We must work hard and live up to the expectations of Grandpa Xi for us," said Khalifa Khalid. "My dream is to become the UAE ambassador to China. I will continue to study Chinese and professional knowledge."

  Li Yingying, president of Tianjin Foreign Studies University, said that he hopes that young people from both countries can become good friends and partners for mutual learning through the UAE's "100 Schools Project" platform. "I hope that students can stand at the forefront of China-Arab cooperation in the future, so that dreams and friendships will continue to survive and cross mountains and seas."

  On April 7, UAE student Bashayer Omar studied Chinese proverbs at the China-Foreign Language Exchange and Cooperation Center of the Ministry of Education in Beijing. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Hu Zhenze

  When I came to China this time, Bashayere learned a new Chinese saying: "Nothing is difficult in the world, as long as I am willing to climb." Facing a new journey in the future, she said: "The fighting spirit contained in this sentence will inspire me to continue to work hard to pursue my dreams and work tirelessly to become the envoy of friendship between Afghanistan and China."

  Planning: Ni Siyi Han Mo

  Video: Chen Ying, Hu Zhenze, Liu Runzhi, Zhao Danliang

  Coordination: Sun Hao, Li Liangyong, Shao Xiangyun, Zhang Dailei

[Editor in charge: Liu Yang]