Recently, the opening ceremony of the 9th Cross-Strait Students’ Internship Experience Camp on Giant Panda Conservation was held in Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding in Sichuan Province, which was organized by Sichuan Cross-Strait Exchange Promotion Association and Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding and co-sponsored by Sichuan Normal University and Panda Channel of CCTV.Com. Chen Binhua, Director of the Information Bureau at the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council and spokesman, attended the event. Liu Xiaochen, Director of the Taiwan Affairs Office of Sichuan Province, attended the activity and passed the flag of the camp. Other attendants include Liu Hao, Deputy Director of the Taiwan Affairs Office of Sichuan Province, Liu Long, second-ranked Deputy Secretary of Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, and more than 50 teachers and students of universities and colleges from Sichuan and Taiwan.

At the opening ceremony, Chen Binhua interacted with young people from both regions, hoping that young students from Taiwan will enjoy the great mountains and rivers of the motherland, experience the rich culture of Sichuan, and make more good friends, so that the flower of friendship between young people from both sides of the Taiwan Strait will be further blossoming and flourishing, and welcoming their frequent travel to the mainland China.

Liu Xiaochen, Director of the Taiwan Affairs Office of Sichuan Province, passing the flag of the camp.

Liu Hao said in his speech that “As Sichuan is the hometown of pandas, which are loved by Taiwan compatriots, especially after “Tuan Tuan” and “Yuan Yuan” settled in Taiwan, pandas have become a strong link between Sichuan and Taiwan. I hope that young students from both sides of the Taiwan Strait will cherish the opportunity to make their contribution to panda conservation while appreciating the culture of Sichuan to explore unlimited development opportunities in the province, and become a contributor and witnesses of the new chapter of Chinese-style modernization in Sichuan. More Taiwan compatriots are welcome to catch a glimpse of the development of Sichuan and the motherland at large.”

Liu Long said in his welcome speech that “In recent years, Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding has been leveraging its advantageous platforms and widely carrying out exchange activities themed on giant pandas, which have been well recognized and praised by compatriots on both sides of the Taiwan Strait. I hoped that through this activity, students from both sides of the Taiwan Strait will have a better understanding of giant pandas and ecological protection, while promoting their exchanges and deepening cross-strait youths’ ties and mutual understanding.

On the day of the opening ceremony, young students from both sides of the Taiwan Strait visited the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding and grasped some scientific knowledge of giant pandas, during which they also showed their talents in magic performance, dance, poetry recitation, etc., in different groups, facilitating their mutual understanding.

The event is a Sichuan-Taiwan youth exchange project that has been organized by Sichuan Province since 2016 centered around the national treasure giant panda, which is a featured resource of exchanges between Sichuan and Taiwan. With giant panda culture as a bridge, the camp has closely linked giant pandas in Sichuan and Taiwan, deepening Taiwan’s young students’ understanding of and identification with the motherland. It has not only facilitated cross-strait friendship among young people, but also boosted the influence and popularity of Sichuan as the “hometown of giant pandas”.

The internship experience camp with “love panda love Sichuan” as the theme lasts for a week, during which the internship experience will be in Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, and Dujiangyan Reintroduction and Breeding Research Center (Panda Valley), and other arranged trips include the visit to the Jinsha Site Museum, and Dujiangyan Water Conservancy Project. Apart from that, performances will also be given, such as Sichuan Opera, face changing, and shadow puppet show, and study tour with the theme of Sichuan cuisine will be started to help Taiwan university students better understand Sichuan.