"The quaint villages seem to carry beautiful memories from every ancestral hall to every wall. As smoke curls up from kitchen chimneys, a number of delicious authentic Nanshe cuisines make people salivate. The ancient historical and cultural relics in Dongguan make me yearn," said Han Jiaxiu from Malaysia after watching the live course "the delicious food and beautiful scenery in Dongguan" at the online summer camp for overseas Chinese youth.

Since September 3, hundreds of overseas Chinese youths have continued to share their learning experiences through videos, texts and pictures in the exchange groups of the activity. This summer camp added interest to the curriculum through the H5 of the opening ceremony, quizzes about hometowns of Dongguan, punching by videos and pictures, etc. The overseas Chinese teenagers would travel to Dongguan online and fall in love with the city through the online courses of trendy culture, delicious dishes, beautiful scenery, and scientific and technological innovations.

Visit the landmarks to enjoy the charm of the trendy city

"Trendy" is the keyword for this year's cultural events in Dongguan. From the "Trendy Dongguan" Matchbox City Art Time to the "Trendy Dongguan-Eco Camping Festival", which brought the trend of camping to the Pearl River Delta, and the 8th China-Dongguan Musical Theatre Festival, which was dedicated to bringing musicals to the public, it could be seen that Dongguan has been sparing no effort to enhance the influence of trendy culture.

Chinese toys are the top in the world, and Dongguan's toys are the top in China. Dongguan has become the "trendy capital" with its excellent manufacturing capability, and the trendy culture is popular among young people. In the first live class of the camp, the host led the participants into Dongguan X11 to immerse themin the charm of the "designer toy world". LAURA, the virtual spokesperson for the 2022 Dongguan Basketball City Culture Festival, was posing with aball in an orange jersey at the most conspicuous place on the first floor of X11.

"Today's course made me knowmoreabout Dongguan, the city of designer toys, and got me interested. I realized that at least one-third of the country's designer toys are made in Dongguan! After watching the video, I couldn't help but feel a sense of national pride that my country also has an amazing designer toy culture" Li Peiyun, from New Zealand, said.

Experiencing the intangible cultural heritage of Nanshe village

Participants also learned about Dongguan's ancient village architecture, traditional dishes and intangible cultural heritage skills through the courses. Nanshe, an ancient village in Chashan town, Dongguan, has a history of more than 800 years. It is the largest well-preserved ancient building complex of the Ming and Qing dynasties in the Pearl River Delta.

In 2020, Nanshe village was listed in the Cultural and Tourism Development Plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, as an important window that shows Dongguan's history and traditional culture. The live course also exhibited the techniques of making the Chashan clay man in silk clothes, an intangible cultural heritage project in Guangdong province, and evoked nostalgic memories of participants from different places with food as a clue.

Enjoy scientific and technological innovations

Scientific and technological innovation is an essential driving force in the city's development. Since the beginning of 2022, Dongguan has defined "scientific and technological innovation plus advanced manufacturing" as the city's characteristics, setting off a "technology wave" in manufacturing. The live course "scientific and technological innovation in Dongguan" focuses on interesting robots and 3D printing technology. In the process of making friends with robots and immersing in 3D printing products, participants could understand the soil and potential of Dongguan's scientific innovation.

"More and more advanced technologies have entered our lives. The sophisticated 3D printing technology amazedme. I couldn't believe that such complex parts and models were formed in an integrated way, without any processing" exclaimed Li Peiyun, one of the participants. The youngsters learned carefully during the courses and exchanged sincerely after. The event not only allowed students from all over the world to travel around Dongguan online and unlock the city's shining features, but also created a magnetic field of shared cultural prosperity across time and space, where culture can be exchanged and emotions can be extended.