The 16th Shanghai International Youth Interactive Friendship Camp (SIYIFC) came to an end on the night of July 21, 2021. 39 teenagers from 16 countries spent nine splendid days together and became good international friends.

[Chinese boy Huang Xiaobo makes a speech as a representative of Chinese campers at the closing ceremony.]

Chinese camper Huang Xiaobo recalled the unforgettable moments over the past 9 days, which resonated with his peers. The 16-year-old boy, who as he noted, “has never been abroad and has never used English to talk to real English speakers before”, led a group of 10 people from 9 nations during the camp.

“I am not only just enjoying it all the time but sharing part of the duty. All the Chinese campers do. My foreign friends, you have no idea how worried we were every time you were missing or lost contact with us. [Laughing.] Thank you so much for taking care of everyone and everything, we appreciate all your efforts,” he said.

Huang concluded the camp saying that “all of our shining memories run in our blood forever.”

[Swedish girl Isabel Katharine Braithwaite makes a speech on behalf of foreign campers.]

Hüseyin Emre Engin, consul general of Turkey in Shanghai, addressed the closing ceremony on behalf of the parents of foreign campers. His daughter, aged 15, took part in the camp.

He noted that it was a great opportunity for kids to have a departure from their daily routines and experience different aspects of China, saying that “Yan'an was really a good highlight.”

[Hüseyin Emre Engin, consul general of Turkey in Shanghai, makes a speech on behalf of the parents of foreign campers.]

The campers this year came from Australia, Brazil, India, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Nepal, Russia, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, the United States and China.

During the 9-day camp, they participated in different kinds of activities such as Chinese culture experience, a national theme show, city orienteering, a visit to JD Asia No 1. Warehouse, a dancing night and fancy rope skipping.

Notably, they went on a trip to Yan'an, in Northwest China's Shaanxi Province, where they felt the local folk culture, did farm work and traced the connections between the Communist Party of China (CPC) and international figures in the 1930s and 1940s.

[Chinese campers Zhang Yichi (left) and Jia Mingxuan serve as hosts of the closing ceremony.]

The camp was hosted by the Shanghai People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (SPAFFC) and the Shanghai Youth Federation, and was organized by the Shanghai Youth Center.

[Jing Ying, vice president of SPAFFC, announces the closing of the 16th SIYIFC.]

[Ding Bo, deputy secretary of the Shanghai Committee of the Communist Youth League, makes a speech.]

Officials of the Consulates General of Turkey, Brazil, the United States, Japan and Singapore in Shanghai, as well as representatives of Shanghai Japanese School, Shanghai Korean School, the Expatriate Center (TEC), Jinfeng International Community Development Association (JICDA) and Pudong New Area Education International Exchange Center, also attended the closing ceremony.

Japanese team members draw from blind boxes as a prize for their most popular clip in a short video contest called “Yan'an in my eyes”.

[Chinese and foreign campers are dancing Yangko and playing the waist drum that they learned in Yan'an.]

[Nepali folk dance by Nepalese camper]

[Song “Katyusha” by Russian and Ukrainian campers]

[Traditional Chinese martial arts by Singaporean camper]

[Song and dance“DduduDdudu” by Korean campers]

[Citation with dance and musical instrument“Song of the Lute Player” by Chinese campers]

[Song & dance “Pinocchio” and “Chase” by Sino-Russian Friendship Children's Choir and ODiliya Arts Centre.]

[Russian camper Liza and camp volunteer Huang Zhichao serve as hosts of the gala after the closing ceremony.]

Chinese and foreign campers were reluctant to part with each other as they posed for group photos, signed names on T-shirts and hugged each other.

Story by Wang Jiaye

Photos by Lin Chunyue