The five-day cultural and sports exchange bringing together 70 teenagers from Guangdong Province, Hong Kong and Macao Special Administrative Regions (SARs), and Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region concluded in Artux City, the capital of Kizilsu Kirgiz Autonomous Prefecture.
On the final day, participants played a friendly mixed-team match at the Artux Football Park, with players from all four regions on each side. Football has a long history in Kizilsu Kirgiz Autonomous Prefecture, dating back to the 19th century. Today, the autonomous prefecture has 377 football pitches, including 172 on school campuses, 27 nationally recognized football schools, 11 clubs, 30 regular teams, and over 1,200 registered players. More than 50 athletes from the region compete in professional leagues such as the Chinese Super League and China League One.
The students also visited the Museum of Kizilsu Kirgiz Autonomous Prefecture and Tugumaiti Township's Frontier Education Centre, an educational site highlighting the history and traditions of border security and frontier life, offering students a deeper understanding of the region's culture, heritage, and spirit of unity.
The program concluded at night with a performance of the Manas epic, a UNESCO-listed oral tradition of the Kirgiz ethnic group and one of the three great heroic epics of Chinese ethnic minorities, at a local theater. The closing ceremony also included student stage performances, video recaps of the past five days, and the exchange of gifts, bringing the cultural and sports exchange to a heartfelt close.
Reporter/Cameraman/Video/Poster/Photo: Zeng Xiangxing
Editor: Hu Nan, James Campion, Shen He
