From mid to late December, 11 TKU students travelled to China to broaden their academic horizons and witness a world of frozen wonders. Six of these students took part in the “North Country Winter Camp”, from the 19th to the 26th of December. The other five participated in the “Snow Friendship Winter Camp”, from the 21st to the 28th. Counting the contingent of 6 TKU students, the North Country Winter Camp drew a total of 192 Taiwanese university students, as well as 40 local Mainland students. It was held at Jilin University in China’s Northeast, and boasted a full schedule: listening to lectures from luminaries in various fields, participating in a Cross-Strait Student Seminar, visits to the Manchu Museum and the Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival, and a skiing trip.

Fourth year TKU Transportation Management student, Liang Jin-Yi, said that “the Harbin snow sculptures are so beautiful. It’s as though a postcard has come to life right before your very eyes.”

Meanwhile, the Snow Friendship Winter Camp’s eight-day itinerary included lectures on local customs and visits to various areas of cultural and historical significance. Third year Economics student, Ye Shu-Wen, observed that the organizers were very thoughtful in their allocation of group members: “Classmates from the same university were each assigned to a separate group, which gave them the opportunity to make new friends with people of markedly different backgrounds”. She found Mainland Chinese students to be diligent, insightful, and eager to learn. “It taught me that there are other ways of looking at things in my life”.

She also learned that many Chinese students go to bed much earlier than students from across the strait, due to a 10:30 pm curfew enforced in many mainland Chinese universities. “During the camp, I learned that we enjoy freedoms that we just take for granted. The trip made me realize this, and I now see how lucky we are to have such a free lifestyle”.