A well-versed exchange between Chinese and Arab writers

Zhang says he hopes young poets from both sides will draw inspiration from one another while staying rooted in their own cultures, allowing poetry to flourish through exchanges between tradition and modernity, and the local and the global.

For Egyptian poet Yahia Mohamed Wagdy Lotfy Omar, poetry can travel across languages and borders.

"When I write a line of poetry, a friend on the other side of the world who speaks a different language can still be moved by it and understand it. That is poetry," he says, adding that translation serves as an important bridge, and such gatherings can help poets break through their own limitations.

Launched by the China Writers Association in 2024, the International Youth Poetry Festival has previously held special sessions for BRICS countries and China-Latin America exchanges.

Organizers say the platform is growing into an international venue for young writers to promote literary dialogue and mutual learning among civilizations.