Following its grand open ceremony on June 23, the "Colorful Guizhou Journey: Mountain and Sea Appointment" 2025 Chinese Language Summer Camp of China-ASEAN Education Cooperation Week project for Indonesian Students continued its in-depth cultural exploration at Guizhou City Vocational College. Through immersive courses and distinctive activities, 62 Indonesian teachers and students decoded Eastern aesthetics amidst the metallic luster of cloisonne and the vibrant red hues of paper-cutting, while gaining insights into cultural coexistence through the dynamic interplay of martial arts' yin-yang philosophy and traditional Chinese medicine wisdom.
Craftsmanship interwoven: a dialogue of civilization at the fingertips
In the classrooms of the School Arts and Sports, traditional crafts sparked cross-sea innovations. As Jollene Leonard's scissors deftly traced auspicious patterns of "two fish playing with lotus" on red paper, her neighbor Valentine Gabriel was using tweezers to break thin copper wires into cloud patterns. "So China's 'Jingtailan' requires over thirty processes!" she exclaimed as filling the indigo glaze into the phoenix's outline. The instructor illustrated how this imperial craft spread to Southeast Asia via the Maritime Silk Road through the enamel artifacts carried by Zheng He's fleet: "Indonesia's' kelingkan' gold thread embroidery and cloisonne enamel are sister arts on different mediums."
Mountains and rivers into the class: a thousand years of vertical and horizontal
Within the meticulously prepared cultural courseware, a dialogue spanning time and space unfolds. When the instructor mentioned Zheng He's voyages through Java during his Western expeditions, Mitchell Hayden Lee pointed at the coordinates marked "Sambo Long" and exclaimed: "Our city's name originates from Zheng He!" On a spice trade map contrasting ancient and modern times, Jayden Wilson tapped the icons of Guizhou chili peppers and Indonesian nutmeg: "It turns out spiciness and aromatic flavors have long connected our taste buds." As the teacher displayed a projection of Song Dynasty Dehua white porcelain fragments excavated from Sumatra, a student exclaimed: "This looks similar to the blue-and-white porcelain patterns in my mom's collection!"
The Way of the Hard and Soft: The Medical Principle of Martial Soul reflects the original intention
In the gymnasium, the resounding shouts of Southern Fist intertwine with the gentle rhythms of Tai Chi. While practicing "White Crane Spreads Its Wings," Freyaglyn Yen realized: "These seemingly defensive moves are actually metaphors for peace." In the Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) experience classroom, the circular cupping marks on her back and the pulse diagnosis chart on her wrist were displayed side by side for interpretation. "Damp-heat constitution requires regulating spleen and stomach functions," the physician explained while pointing to the meridian diagram: "Just like maritime trade must follow monsoon patterns—— this embodies the wisdom of adapting to nature."
Indonesian students experience China culture
Students in Indonesia learn about intangible cultural heritage paper cutting
Students in Indonesia learn to make cloisonne
Experience Chinese martial arts
Experience the charm of Chinese medicine
Display of paper-cutting achievements
When the enamel colors coalesce into phoenix feathers on the bronze base, the shouts from the martial arts hall still echo through the campus. Indonesian students sense the pulse of cultural integration through the intricate filigree patterns, while witnessing a six-hundred-year-old peace covenant in the overlapping trajectories of Zheng He's maritime routes and the Belt and Road Initiative. This Eastern wisdom, etched between copper wires, silver needles, and clenched fists, is transforming into an eternal bond connecting mountains and seas, writing a new chapter of collaboration between Chinese and Indonesian youth.