From August 7 to 13, 16 international students from the Shanghai University HEY International Student Choir traveled to Zhongshan, Guangdong Province, with their music instructor Xu Yan from the university’s School of Music. They took part in the 19th China Choral Festival and a series of cultural visits organized around the city.

The trip was supported by the Shanghai University Research Center for Haipai Culture and several university administrators and faculty members. The 16 students came from 12 countries, including Russia, Malaysia, and Indonesia. Through Chinese songs, they moved from the choral stage to the city's historical sites and industrial sites — experiencing Chinese culture both through performance and firsthand exploration.

Singing Together: Chinese Songs on the Choral Stage

At the 19th China Choral Festival, the HEY choir performed Chinese-language pieces alongside ensembles from across the country and earned a strong result. In the weeks leading up to the performance, the students worked on pronunciation, phrasing, and stage presence — each rehearsal deepening their connection to the music and its cultural context. For many of them, the festival was more than a competition; it was a chance to understand Chinese culture through the songs they sang.

One of the most memorable moments came with their performance of Ruyuan (As Wished). Young people from different countries and cultural backgrounds sang together in Chinese, drawing warm applause from the audience.

HEY choir members visiting the Museum of the Former Residence of Sun Yat-sen

 

Encountering History: Discovering China in Zhongshan

During their stay, the choir visited the Museum of the Former Residence of Sun Yat-sen, where they viewed historical photographs, documents, and artifacts to learn about Sun Yat-sen's life and legacy.

HEY choir members visiting the Museum of the Former Residence of Sun Yat-sen

For the international students, the visit became a “moving classroom”—a chance to explore modern Chinese history and understand the cultural roots of the city through firsthand experience.

Smart Zhongshan: Experiencing the Vitality of the Greater Bay Area

On August 10, the students joined the “Zhongshan Smart Manufacturing and Cultural Journey,” exploring leading companies, creative industries, local brands, Lingnan culture and regional cuisine.

From smart manufacturing and lighting to IP-based creative industries and cultural heritage, the journey offered a close-up view of a dynamic city in the Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area.

If the visit to Sun Yat-sen’s former residence revealed Zhongshan’s historical depth, this journey showed the students the energy and creativity of Zhongshan today.

From Experiencing China to Telling China’ s Stories

Throughout the journey, local media followed the students as they explored, performed and shared their experiences.

HEY choir members being interviewed by local media

In front of the camera, the students spoke about the China they had encountered—not through second-hand descriptions, but through what they had personally seen, heard and felt.

They were no longer simply experiencing China. They were beginning to tell China’s stories in their own voices.

Chinese as a Bridge: Music as a Medium

From Shanghai to Zhongshan, from Haipai culture to Lingnan culture, and from the choral stage to historical landmarks and centers of smart manufacturing, the journey brought together music, history, culture and contemporary China.

For HEY, learning to sing a Chinese song is only the beginning. Behind every melody is an opportunity to understand a culture; behind every journey is an opportunity to discover China; and behind every genuine experience is a story worth sharing.

Chinese as a bridge. Music as a medium.

Different voices, shared emotions.

From experiencing China to understanding China, and from understanding China to sharing its stories with the world.

Source: Shanghai University