As reported by China Youth Network, on July 23, more than 30 Chinese and foreign teachers and students from the 2025 "Yellow River Culture Experience Summer Camp" of NCWU visited the Yellow River Museum--the Social Practice Activity Base of NCWU for Chinese and Foreign Youth--to carry out Yellow River culture learning and intangible cultural heritage study experiences. The activity aimed to practice the base's annual construction goal of "consolidating the foundation and building the brand" through Yellow River culture exploration and practical experiences such as "Ni Gu Gu" painting and Henan Opera singing, and to build a practical platform for cultural mutual learning among Chinese and foreign youth.
Inside the Yellow River Museum, Chinese and foreign teachers and students gained an in-depth understanding of the history of Yellow River governance and ecological protection achievements through bilingual explanations, and felt the development course of China's water conservancy technologies. In the intangible cultural heritage study session, participants personally engaged in the production of "Ni Gu Gu" painting, a national-level intangible cultural heritage project, experiencing the charm of the soil of the Yellow River through traditional clay sculpture techniques and depicting the Yellow River ecological landscape through innovation and creativity. Under the guidance of teachers of Henan Opera, they learned to sing classic excerpts, experiencing the charm of Central Plain culture through music for voices and figures.
Ryan from the United Kingdom said: "Yellow River cultural relics let me touch history, while the hand-painted 'Ni Gu Gu' and music for voices of Henan Opera made me feel the vivid vitality of Chinese culture".
Li Shengji, person in charge of the Social Practice Activity Base of NCWU for Chinese and Foreign Youth, stated that the immersive design of "cultural exploration + intangible cultural heritage experiences" integrated the historical depth of the Yellow River culture with the contemporary vitality of intangible cultural heritage inheritance. It not only responded to the construction requirements of featured projects such as "ecological protection for the Yellow River" and "cultural dialogues with the Yellow River", but also provided a "knowing and doing" cultural exchange carrier for Chinese and foreign youth, achieving multiple goals with one effort. This summer camp activity marked an innovative exploration of the base's "practical education" model.
It is reported that, as one of the first batch of social practice activity bases for Chinese and foreign youth approved by the Ministry of Education, this activity has not only deepened foreign youth's understanding of traditional Chinese culture, but also promoted the international dissemination of Yellow River culture stories through youth practice as a link. Next, the base will continue to deepen the university-museum collaboration, integrating more elements such as historical culture, intangible cultural heritage experiences, technological and emotional resonance into subsequent projects including the "Yellow River youth forum" and "on-the-spot investigations on the ecological protection", making the base an important platform for spreading Yellow River civilization and cultivating youngsters who understand and befriend China.
It is understood that the Yellow River Museum--the Social Practice Activity Base of NCWU for Chinese and Foreign Youth is a national-level project initiated by NCWU, co-constructed by NCWU and the Yellow River Museum, with Li Shengji, Dean of the School of International Education of NCWU, as the person in charge. Featured projects include on-the-spot visits to Yellow River cultural relics, participation in ecological protection investigations, and experience of river governance engineering wisdom, etc.
