"Perception of China" International Summer Project

The opening ceremony of the 2019 Tsinghua University International Summer School "Perception of China and Tsinghua Impression" project was successfully held in the back hall of the main building, with 188 international students from 44 countries participating. This international summer project is the fourth time it has been held since its first launch in 2016, and is one of the important measures for Tsinghua University to implement a global strategy and layout a new century of "more innovative, more international, and more humanistic".

      Li Jinliang, Director of the International Department and Director of the International Student and Scholar Center at Tsinghua University, attended the opening ceremony and delivered a keynote speech. Li Jinliang gave a keynote speech titled "The Achievements and Challenges of China's Economic Development", telling the history of China's economic reform.

      Subsequently, Fu Zhiyong, the academic director of the summer project "Perceiving the Impression of Tsinghua University in China" and associate professor of the Academy of Fine Arts, gave an explanation on the academic matters of the project and wished the students a fulfilling and fruitful two-week study life.

       On the morning of July 12th, the summer school of Tsinghua University, "Perceiving China and Impression of Tsinghua", opened in the back hall of the main building. The project is divided into seven themes, aiming to provide a comprehensive understanding of China's immersive environment. 27 students from countries such as the UK, Russia, and Poland formed the "Creative Cities" branch. In the next two weeks, they will listen to lectures, participate in creative workshops, and conduct on-site inspections of Beijing's urban construction, in order to explore how to give the city new vitality and competitiveness through the creative industry, how to solve the substantive problems of urban development with creative methods, and truly achieve the goal of "creative city".

       On July 13th, Fu Zhiyong, the supervisor of the Creative City Group and associate professor of the Academy of Fine Arts, introduced the basic concept of "Creative City" to the students. Not only did he explain the relevant background knowledge in simple and easy language, but he also stimulated the students' interest and thinking about "Creative City". Subsequently, the classmates in the group engaged in ice breaking activities to enhance mutual understanding. At the same time, everyone showed a high level of creative enthusiasm and artistic level, using imagination for creative design and associative thinking, and actively presenting them on paper one by one through a paintbrush.

       On July 15th, students from the Creative City Group listened to a lecture by Professor Song Yan, who is a land consultant of the State owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission and has ten years of experience in the Beijing cultural and creative industry. Teacher Song's detailed exposition on the past, present, and center migration of Beijing, as well as his insightful insights on urban renewal and transformation, deeply inspired the students. The classroom atmosphere was lively, and he discussed with the teacher how to promote cultural diversity and sustainable urban development through the development of creative industries. Through this lecture, students have gained a deeper understanding of Beijing's urban renewal and innovative city construction, and are also looking forward to the next day's on-site inspection trip.

On July 16th, the Creative City team arrived at the Beijing area located in the Dashilan commercial district at 9am and embarked on a one-day exploration journey. At the core business promotion site of the architectural complex, the instructors provided a detailed introduction to the architectural style of integrating Chinese and Western elements and the planning concept of "harmony but difference", aiming to build a modern and humanized "big community". Subsequently, the students arrived at Old Beijing Hutong, just one street away from Beijing. The bricks, tiles, streets, and alleys here are all telling the story of the city's rich cultural heritage and historical heritage. In the afternoon, the students went to the Shijia Hutong Museum to explore the historical trajectory and listen to anecdotes from celebrities. Amidst the shouts of the old Beijing alleys and the teasing of the wren in front of He Men, everyone seemed to have delved into the life of the alleys.

On July 17th, renowned multimedia curator and Seeklab organizer Huang Yijie had an in-depth exchange with her classmates. She proposed to view cities as living laboratories, attract global enterprises and talents through the development of innovative infrastructure and the improvement of living environment, and achieve better urban development. Taking Seeeklab's focus on new media interactive design and development as an example, this article introduces the cross-border integration of art and industrial design, interactive design, digital media, etc., inspiring students on how to carry out design thinking and use new technology equipment and new media art to create creative cities that are not bound by tradition.

       On July 18th, the Creative City Group continued its journey to the 798 Art District to experience the charm of contemporary art in Beijing. There are various themed exhibitions in the park, and many cultural and creative small handicraft shops are also open for visitors to play. Through dispersed exploration of cultural areas of interest, the team members gained an understanding of the evolution of 798 from a military factory to an art district, and experienced the sustainable development of art planning. In the afternoon, everyone came to the "Black Bow" cultural communication company and, through communication with the staff, came into contact with the story behind the short film "Beijing Eight Minutes" for the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, which also sparked more innovative and creative ideas.

       On July 19th, the Creative City Group visited the Cultural Experience Center Huaxi Live and Zhimi Technology Company for a deep interactive experience journey. The members visited the "Porcelain World" creative exhibition in Huaxi Live and interacted with the spirit beasts transformed from porcelain with the support of advanced media technology, experiencing Chinese porcelain culture in fun. In the afternoon, members visited the long-awaited Zhimi Technology company and experienced the voice interaction between Xiaomi smart speakers and humans, as well as the intelligent interconnection of other Zhimi products, in showroom. The teacher explained in detail and conveyed the culture, business model, and design philosophy of Zhimi and Xiaomi to the members. Subsequently, Mr. Su Jun, CEO of Zhimi Company, shared with everyone his brief but profound views on enterprise, culture, and art, drawing a perfect conclusion to this day's visit.

       On July 20th, classmates and Dr. Zhong Fang discussed a topic related to micro creative communities, while also considering how creativity can become the foundation for promoting economic development through knowledge and information processing, how to make creative activities mainstream, and how to build a comprehensive creative economy around such activities. Taking the shared creative community as an example, Dr. Zhong introduced the integration of sensibility and rationality in creative communities, which allows material and consciousness to coexist and form field characteristics through the evolution of time, space, and consciousness. From the perspectives of spatial layout, community scale, transportation planning, etc., a new type of creative city is constructed.

       During several days of city visits and guest lectures, students not only experienced the profound historical accumulation and contemporary artistic charm of Beijing, but also continued to conduct relevant research, interviews, and discussions. Combining daily activity experiences and course thinking, actively preparing for the final group presentation and achievement report, hoping to provide suggestions and suggestions for the construction of creative cities.

On July 22nd, each group focused on multiple perspectives such as environmental protection, catering, and cross-cultural communication. Inspired by the creative design of Senior Zhao Zhexi, they hand-painted posters to express their thinking patterns and core concepts. The themes of the five groups are diverse, but fundamentally, they all converge on one point: how foreign tourists can truly integrate into Chinese society and engage in deep communication with local people. After the presentation of each poster, academic advisor Fu Zhiyong gave brilliant comments and suggestions, which deeply inspired the students and further improved the poster content and final report.

On July 23rd, five groups each recorded a video introducing the concept of the poster. Students from all over the world discussed the common topic of creative city construction from a diverse comparative perspective, using concise language to outline multiple days of on-site inspections and personal experiences. At the end of the summer school, Teacher Fu Zhiyong gave full recognition to each student's performance and prepared exquisite gifts for them. After the closing ceremony, the students still stopped to take a group photo and had a warm exchange, unwilling to leave for a long time.

Enriching courses and exciting experiences, students have explored seven thematic directions: "Creative City", "Industrial Frontier", "Urbanization", "International Relations", "Environment", "Architecture", and "Gender Research" to perceive the real and vivid contemporary China. They have further considered the classroom content, formed a more comprehensive and objective view, and deepened their impression of China in their minds.

In this "Perception of China · Impression of Tsinghua University" summer school, students from various countries learned about the world of China, experienced the world of China, and engaged in interdisciplinary and cross-cultural discussions and cooperation on the topic of creative cities through dialogue and intersection of different cultural traditions. After the closing ceremony, An Shuyu from Russia expressed her gratitude to Tsinghua University for hosting this summer school. She believes that the school provides an opportunity for students from various countries to have a deeper understanding and appreciation of Chinese cultural traditions. At the same time, she expressed sincere gratitude to Teacher Fu Zhiyong. Teacher Fu's multidimensional dissection of the concept of "creativity" and his insightful vision in the construction of creative cities have left a deep impression on her. She looks forward to returning to China and Tsinghua University in the future, to have a deeper understanding of China and Tsinghua University.