Last week, Fudan international students Orrasa Rattana-amornpirom and Yong Yong just came back from Northwest China’s Qinghai Province.
Invited by local governments, they visited Sanjiangyuan Monument, and Yushu Earthquake Memorial Hall and Princess Wencheng Temple at Yushu city, etc., where the students say they gained a better understanding of what a community of a shared future for humankind means in experiencing China’s brilliant civilizations and biodiversity.
Sanjiangyuan, literally meaning the source of three rivers in Chinese, is home to the headstreams of China's three great rivers: the Yangtze, Yellow, and Lancang, which is named the Mekong in the southeast Asia. With snow-capped mountains, crystal-clear lakes, and diverse wildlife, Sanjangyuan area also presents an ecological landscape unparalleled in the country.
“It was the first time for me to recognize that the Yangtze, Yellow, and Mekong share the same source. I think nature is borderless, and humankind is actually one family,” said Orrasa Rattana-amornpirom, a Ph.D. candidate from Thailand at School of International Relations and Public Affairs. The fresh air in Sanjiangyuan area also relieved her altitude sickness, “It was extremely amazing that I no longer have any altitude sickness at that time.”
▍ORRASA RATTANA-AMORNPIROM (Left)
▍YONG YONG (Right)
According to Orrasa, it was the second time for her to visit Qinghai, where she had been years ago for academic research. During the past decade, she has lived and studied in many places in China, from South China to North China, like Yunnan, Beijing, Qinghai, Shanghai, etc. She is amazed at the country’s cultural diversity and development speed. “China enjoys a high level of digitalization. I got familiar with mobile payment in China, and e-commerce, for example, is prevalent even in some third-tier cities. ” She added.
At Yushu Earthquake Memorial Hall in this trip to Qinghai, both Orrasa and Yong Yong, a master’s student from Myanmar at School of Journalism, were moved. In 2010, a devastating 7.1-magnitude earthquake flattened Yushu, Qinghai, leaving 2,698 dead and over 12,000 injured. In the aftermath, Yushu received substantial investments from the central government and donation from people across the country and the globe to rebuild.
Deeply involved in the stories happened in and after the earthquake, Yong said she even forgot to take any photo when listening to the guide at the Yushu Earthquake Memorial Hall. “The stories about the earthquake were astounding, and I was moved by the perseverance of the Chinese. Survivors who prayed for the victims in their own way were also impressive. ”
During this trip, cultural diversity of China has left Yong a lasting impression. “We also visited Princess Wencheng Temple, and I found different cultures and civilizations are equally respected and protected in China.”
In the hope of knowing more about China, Yong came to Shanghai to pursue her bachelor’s degree in 2018, and was admitted by Fudan in 2021. “I began to learn Chinese at my high school in my hometown, and at that time I become interested in China.”
Although the trip to Qinghai is short, it has left deep impression on the students.
“China is a vast country. Different places may have extremely different characteristics,” said Orrasa, who hopes to learn more about China by both reading and travelling.
(END)
Presented by Fudan University Media Center
Writer: Wang Mengqi
Photos: Provided by the interviewees
Editor: Li Yijie
Designer: Jia Yingyue
