Meet at SCO Blooming Tianjin Splendor

New Silk Road Envoy: Writing with a Brush "Friendship"

— The Story of Sino-Uzbek Educational Exchange at Tianjin Yinghua Experimental School

May 28, 2025 Reporter Zhang Wenjing

　　In Wuqing District, Tianjin, there is an international school weaving Eastern wisdom with world civilization. In the early morning, inside the classrooms of Tianjin Yinghua Experimental School, the Chinese class of the "Sino-Uzbek Friendship Class" is filled with the sound of reading. The voices of children from Uzbekistan reading brought the reporter into the story of Sino-Uzbek educational exchange written by the school. From the first group of Uzbek teenagers stepping into Yinghua's gates in 2009 to today's "Sino-Uzbek Friendship Class," this "bridge of hearts" established between the two countries for 16 years witnesses the growth of a new generation of Silk Road envoys.

In September 2024, the first Yinghua "Sino-Uzbek Friendship Class" started, with 26 outstanding young people from Uzbekistan coming to Yinghua to learn Chinese. Classroom learning is only part of the educational exchange in the "Sino-Uzbek Friendship Class." Touching the "weathered patterns" of ancient relics at the Forbidden City, standing on the Huangyaguan Great Wall to overlook the magnificent mountains and rivers, writing the Chinese character — "Friendship" — with a brush... These rich activities allow young people to deeply experience Chinese culture. After the activities, an Uzbek high school student wrote: "China is not only the 'mysterious East' in textbooks but also a warm country full of everyday life."

　　Such "cultural encounters" have become routine on the Yinghua campus. The "Friendship Class" project is a microcosm of Yinghua School's promotion of Sino-Uzbek basic education cooperation. Since 2022, the school has used "short- and medium-term special exchanges to China" as a starting point to open a "window" for Uzbek youth to understand China, also planting a "China affinity" in them. "Many children have strengthened their confidence and determination to study in China through such short-term exchanges," said Zhou Yan, director of the school's International Affairs Office.

　　Opening the alumni record of Uzbek students feels like opening the growth diaries of many teenagers. From 2009 to the present, the group of overseas students trained by Yinghua, after completing their studies in China, many actively promote exchanges and cooperation between Uzbekistan and China in their respective work fields. In 2023, the Yinghua Uzbekistan Overseas Alumni Association was established, including 34 graduates ranging from young government officials to senior executives of Chinese-funded enterprises and entrepreneurial pioneers. The alumni association president, Ali, head of Anhui Conch Cement's Uzbekistan branch, said: "Our study experience at Yinghua makes us never forget the beauty of Tianjin city. Now, we are not only participants in Sino-Uzbek economic and trade cooperation but also promoters of friendship between the two countries."

19-year-old Abla is a current Uzbek student in Yinghua's international student department. "My father has always been engaged in Sino-Uzbek trade, and he especially hopes I can study in China." In 2023, carrying his father's expectations, Abla came to study at Yinghua. Now, he excitedly says in fluent Chinese: "I also learned kuaiban (clapper talk) and xiangsheng (comic dialogue) in Tianjin!"

　　During his studies, Abla received not only language education but also a comprehensive experience of Chinese culture.

　　At Yinghua, the school has designed a unique "three-level training system" for international students: centered on HSK (Chinese Proficiency Test) graded Chinese teaching, supplemented by courses in English, mathematics, and other subjects to solidify academic foundations; offering elective cultural experience courses such as calligraphy, Peking opera, and intangible cultural heritage crafts; organizing international students to "enter Chinese families" and participate in "International Cultural Festival" activities to deeply integrate into local life; regularly conducting themed study tours, visiting Beijing, Xi'an, Qingdao, Shanghai, and other places beyond Tianjin to witness the fusion of China's history and modernity.

"We are not cultivating Chinese parrots but 'cultural decoders' who can understand China's pulse," said Lin Xiangyang, chairman and principal of Yinghua Experimental School, looking at international students practicing Tai Chi sword outside the window. "We are actively coordinating with the Uzbek side to jointly build the first 'Chinese International School' locally, constructing a bridge of spiritual connection between Chinese and Uzbek youth. We hope to bring excellent educational resources and teaching systems to Uzbekistan through jointly building Chinese curriculum standards, teacher training systems, and education management models, creating a growth platform for the future for youth from both countries, cultivating new-era talents with Chinese literacy, international vision, and leadership potential."

　　From short-term exchanges to long-term study abroad, from teaching cooperation to school co-construction, from cultural experience to people-to-people connectivity, from Uzbekistan to Tajikistan, Mongolia, ... Today, under the guidance of the "Shanghai Spirit," the international exchange path of Tianjin Yinghua Experimental School is becoming broader and more determined. In Lin Xiangyang's view, this autumn, China will host the SCO summit in Tianjin, which will provide an important platform for the school to carry out in-depth educational exchange and cooperation with more SCO countries.

　　Approaching graduation, Abla is reluctant to leave. "At Yinghua, I found a second home. I want to bring back the warmth and wisdom I felt here, letting more young people in Uzbekistan see a real, three-dimensional, and comprehensive China. In the future, I think I will make 'home' in China." This "Chinese seed" sown in the hearts of young people is blooming brilliantly in the countries jointly building the "Belt and Road."