Last August under the coordination of the Global Services Office, a team formed by 30 CityU students and a group of Lanzhou University students spent together their summer in a 28-day programme: CityU Omnibus on the Silk Road. The team visited a number of ethnic communities along the Silk Road, including Subei, Sunan, Lanzhou and Aksai, studying the ethnic groups’ culture, religion and politics, as well as participating in voluntary services.

Embarking on the journey in Aksai, the team paid visits to Kazakh families in a bid to gain a better understanding of the origin and development of the community’s culture. The students, together with the local kids, made use of the ethnic group’s traditional patterns to decorate household items. Helping locals to use such skills beyond households, the team also delved into how to make full use of traditional arts and crafts for business purposes.

Immensely interested in traditional handcrafts, the students also went to museums in Sunan to learn about their origin and development. Towards the end of the trip, the students participated in another voluntary service by organising activities such as dancing, painting, playing games and making handicrafts together with women and children in Lanzhou.

CityU students found this trip to the Silk Road valuable, educational and beneficial as they have learnt a lot in this short yet fruitful summer. Participant Cici Xie (Chinese, Year 4) commented, “Having an in-depth cultural exchange is way better than just reading it from the books. Trust me, you will definitely fall in love with a culture if you experience it first-hand!”


Find out more on “Global Experience for All” webpage:
http://www.cityu.edu.hk/gso/oge_globalexp.htm

Students visited the picturesque Mogao Caves in Ganzu.

Students visited a Tibetan family and appreciated local handicrafts.