“Ten thousand scrolls are no better than ten thousand miles.”The Beijing Traditional Chinese Culture and National Identity Exchange Program has successfully concluded. This tour arranged visits for students to the Forbidden City, the Summer Palace—China’s largest imperial garden— the Great Wall, the Temple of Heaven, and other sites. These visits enabled students to understand the correlation between traditional Chinese architecture and the Chinese cultural idea of the unity of heaven and humanity. Through personal experience, combined with what they had previously acquired in class, students deepened their understanding of traditional culture and strengthened their pride in Chinese culture.

 

Additionally, the tour arranged for students to attend the flag-raising ceremony at Tiananmen Square. Despite the temperature being minus two degrees Celsius, students arrived at Tiananmen Square at six in the morning to witness the ceremony. During the event, they felt the solemn and dignified atmosphere as the national flag slowly rose.

 

This exchange tour transformed the philosophical concept of “the unity of heaven and humanity” from books into a tangible feeling discovered from wavering flags and interlocking beams, turning historical narratives into the awe one feels when stepping onto the ancient city walls. It allowed cultural confidence to take root and thrive through first-hand experience and emotional resonance, enabling students to appreciate the grandeur and majesty of Chinese culture, reaffirming the importance of the saying:”Ten thousand scrolls are no better than ten thousand miles.”