Guangzhou Nansha’s International Student Study Tour Class Is Awesome and WoW

As the new semester begins smoothly and the Mid-Autumn Festival and China’s National Day follow close on each other’s heels, how can international students in the Greater Bay Area experience the charm of the region’s distinctive culture and technological innovation? On September 17, the 2026 “See Nansha, See the Future” Guangzhou Nansha International Teachers and Students Study Tour, guided by the Publicity Department of the CPC Guangzhou Nansha District Committee and hosted by the Greater Bay Area (Nansha) International Communication Center, gave them a particularly meaningful back-to-school gift.

The international students participating in this study tour all came from schools in Nansha District, Guangzhou. A total of 23 junior and senior high school students came from 12 countries—the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Russia, South Korea, India, Greece, Indonesia, Cameroon, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo—as well as China’s Hong Kong SAR. Accompanied by three foreign teachers, they visited the Nanhua Jewelry Art Museum and the Tunnel Museum.

At the Nanhua Jewelry Art Museum in Dongchong Town, Nansha, Guangzhou, professional guides led the teachers and students to view rare emerald carvings, hsianghualite, fish fossils, meteorites, and dozens of other types of fossils and gemstones, and to admire up close top handicrafts by masters whose works are used as national gifts and by winners of national vocational skills competitions. As the students looked on, the guides explained the formation and descent of interstellar meteorites, crustal evolution, and the principles of mineral crystallization. In the “Flowing Fluorescent Colors” exhibition area, the colorful glowing minerals in the darkness made the teachers and students marvel at the magical charm of nature.

In the intangible cultural heritage experience session, under the step-by-step guidance of craftsmen, the students cut, polished, and inlaid pieces of shell into metal. After gluing them and baking for five minutes, an exquisite traditional Chinese mother-of-pearl inlay brooch was completed. About 45 minutes later, the students posed for photos with the brooches they had made, their joy written all over their faces.

At the Tunnel Museum, the teachers and students first took in the historical development of China’s infrastructure through documentary photos in the hall. Behind the repeated miracles created in different eras lies the painstaking effort and wisdom of generations of Chinese engineers who studied hard and overcame difficulties. Rui’en, a Canadian Grade 7 student from Guangzhou Weigang Qingteng Middle School, said with emotion, “The birth of one world engineering miracle after another in China is no accident. I saw the will and perseverance of Chinese engineers, and it also inspired me to study hard in Nansha.”

In front of the actual machine of China’s first independently developed major national heavy equipment—the 6.3-meter-diameter composite shield tunneling machine “China Railway No. 1”—the students took photos as mementos. Anna Chen, a Greek girl, said, “This study tour gave me a completely new understanding of Nansha, Guangzhou. I not only gained knowledge not found in books but also made many new friends. I couldn’t be happier!”

A Greek teacher told reporters, “Stepping into society and out of the classroom is true learning. This event perfectly demonstrated how Nansha ingeniously integrates traditional culture, historical heritage, and modern technology. I have lived in China for nearly 20 years, and Nansha is one of the best places I have ever lived! It is not only open and inclusive with a beautiful environment, but also has locational advantages and broad prospects for developing high-tech industries.”

Source: GICC