Development Fund
[Harvard China TREK 2024丨Beijing Station] Visit the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to interpret China’s plan, visit the Forbidden City to pursue history and culture
The third day of Harvard’s China trip in 2024 centered on diplomacy and culture.
Peaceful coexistence
On the morning of January 17, students participating in the "2024 Harvard China Trip" came to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and held discussions with diplomats. The students first visited the Foreign Affairs Reception Hall and Press Briefing Hall of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and had in-depth exchanges with diplomats where the spokesperson held daily press conferences.
The leaders of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs led the diplomats to warmly receive the Harvard students and shared their work experience in the diplomatic field. As China's official diplomatic channel, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is committed to establishing friendly and united diplomatic relations with countries around the world through various tasks and activities, telling China's story well, and creating space for China's peaceful rise. In the subsequent question and answer session, Harvard students asked questions about China’s position in the international situation, other countries’ evaluations of China, the work content of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and how to deal with misunderstandings and cognitive biases caused by cultural differences and insufficient understanding. The diplomats had candid discussions with the students on issues and hoped that the Harvard students could share their experiences during the trip so that the world can understand a real China.
At the second stop, the students came to the Beijing Overseas Cultural Exchange Center to visit the Year of the Dragon themed zodiac exhibition. The twelve zodiac sculptures with different shapes and the personality traits behind each zodiac attracted everyone's attention. The students also found the zodiac corresponding to their birth year according to the zodiac year corresponding table, and took photos with their corresponding zodiac sculptures. Journalists from Beijing TV Station followed and reported the whole process.
Harvard students interviewed
Inheritance·Display
When visiting Beijing, one thing you can’t miss is the Palace Museum, the central building located on Beijing’s central axis. In order to let students have a deeper understanding of the Forbidden City and the history of China's Ming and Qing Dynasties, the Forbidden City arranged for students to have instructors with professional backgrounds to explain the entire process in English. From the Meridian Gate to the Shenwu Gate, from the Zhengda Guangming Hall to the Treasure Hall, the students walked through the Hall of Supreme Harmony, Kunning Palace, Qianqing Palace, and the Imperial Garden. They took photos in front of various buildings and marveled at the grandeur of the overall structure of the Forbidden City complex. , the exquisite carving details, ranging from the layers of palace walls to the small totem patterns everywhere, all reveal the rich connotation and profound heritage of Chinese history, which is both vast and subtle.
Students take selfies in front of the Meridian Gate of the Forbidden City
After the visit, the students shared their feelings about the visit and finally took a group photo in front of Shenwu Gate.
At this point, the trip to Beijing Station has ended. I would like to thank all partners in every trip to Beijing Station for their support of Harvard China Tour.
The Shanghai trip is about to begin. Let the world understand China and let China go global. We are on the way to the 2024 Harvard China Trip!
Hi China International Youth Development Alliance is a youth organization initiated by Harvard alumni. It focuses on global competency development and people-to-people diplomacy. It is also the only non-governmental youth organization in China that has obtained special consultative status with the United Nations. It has organized Harvard China trips, youth growth plans, etc. . Hi China has a series of youth growth projects, opportunities to participate in the United Nations, as well as internships and volunteer services in cooperation with international organizations.
