Young people of Chinese descent from eight countries joined a summer camp in Hunan, exploring their roots through Chinese surnames, seal carving and cultural heritage.
Young people of Chinese descent from eight countries began a cultural heritage journey in Hunan Province, central China, by carving their Chinese surnames into stone seals and exploring the stories behind their family names.
The activity marked the opening of the “Mother’s Hometown” Overseas Chinese Youth Summer Camp in Changsha. Participants from Germany, South Korea, Canada, Japan and four other countries visited the Song Dan Chinese Character Art Museum, where they learned about the origins of Chinese characters and experienced traditional seal carving.
“For years, I only knew how to write my Chinese name,” 14-year-old Lee Zixi, an ethnic Chinese teenager from South Korea, told CNS, “I never imagined that my surname had already been growing on this land more than 3,000 years ago.”
Lee was referring to the oracle bone script form of the surname Li (李), which originally depicted a tree’s fruit.
For many participants, the experience gave new meaning to their surnames.
Chen Nuo, from Italy, tried seal carving for the first time. After finishing his seal, he pressed it onto rice paper with red ink. “My mom always says our surname is a root that travelled from China,” Chen said, “Today I carved that root with my own hands.”
He plans to take the seal to Fujian, his mother’s hometown, as a gift for his grandfather. He also hopes to share the experience with his classmates and friends in Italy.
Meanwhile, 15-year-old Jiang Lianjia, who was born and raised in Chiang Mai, Thailand, said her understanding of China had previously come mainly from family stories and television.
“After finally coming here, those scattered images suddenly came together,” she said. “I used to think my surname was just a name. Now it feels like an invisible thread. One end leads to me, and the other connects with my family’s past.”
During the summer camp, participants will also visit the Song Dan Chinese Character Art Museum, Tongguan Kiln, Yuelu Academy and the Hunan Embroidery Museum to learn more about Chinese history, traditional crafts and cultural heritage.
In addition, they will tour the Changsha Aviation Technology Experience Centre and Super Robot World, the world’s first robot “9S” store. Through interactive activities, they will also learn about China’s latest technological developments.
If you liked this article, why not read: How Overseas Chinese Youth Explored China This Summer
