Xi’an University of Architecture and Technology (XAUAT) held the SRIAATU 2024 Summer Camp Program “First Impression of Chinese Architectural Culture” in China from June 19 to 30, 2024, with the participation of 17 teachers and students of SRIAATU member universities from six countries. During the program, the participants visited the Center for Language Education and Cooperation under China’s Ministry of Education, Beijing International Chinese College, and the Lintong campus of Xi’an University of Science and Technology, which is a SRIAATU member. In their stay in XAUAT, they visited the State Key Laboratory of Green Building, College of Architecture, School of International Education, An De College, History Museum, and Traditional Chinese Tile Art Museum. They also participated in lectures on Chinese architectural culture, international Chinese courses, Chinese Proficiency Tests, as well as cultural exchange events such as Chinese calligraphy and tai chi. The teachers and students had in-depth exchanges with XAUAT students, gained a first-hand understanding of the history and culture in Chinese architecture over thousands of years, and experienced China’s folk customs. They have felt the development and tremendous changes in China in the new era, which enhanced their understanding of China and increased their enthusiasm for China’s architectural culture and Chinese language learning.

The closing ceremony was held on June 30 at the meeting hall of the XAUAT administrative building. Wang Dengjia, vice director of the Office of International Affairs and vice dean of the School of International Education, attended and addressed the ceremony. Present at the ceremony were teachers and students from Indonesia’s Bandung Institute of Technology, the University of Putra Malaysia, the Graduate University of Mongolia, Palestine’s An-Najah National University, Poland’s Gdańsk University of Technology, and Uzbekistan’s Samarkand State University. They reviewed this trip on Chinese architectural culture and thanked the SRIAATU for this opportunity.

They said they experienced the charm and cultural connotation of traditional Chinese architecture through this program, which has fully stimulated their interest in learning Chinese. They looked forward to visiting China again in the future and studying at XAUAT to further learn Chinese and Chinese architectural culture. Lasting for 12 days, the program is a successful attempt at student exchanges among the SRIAATU member universities, and has won unanimous praise from the participating teachers and students.

It conduces to deepening the practical cooperation among the SRIAATU members, and provides a platform for teachers and students in universities along the Silk Road to understand XAUAT and study in China.