Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports (GOI), Department of Youth Affairs organized a visit to China from the invitation of the All China Youth Federation as part of the annual calendar of bilateral exchanges. An Indian Youth Delegation to China 2016 comprising of young professionals, students, scholars, athletes, artists and representatives from civil society organisations and political parties as well as officials from the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sportsman (approximately 200 members) visited Beijing and Shanghai etc. from 17th to 24th June 2016. Two students namely Mr. Akshat Chhabra (ECE) & Mr. Amit Mittal (EEE) of Dronacharya college of Engineering, Gurgaon were fortunate to be a part of this prestigious visit.

This is the first expanded delegation following an understanding reached between the two countries during Chinese President Xi Jinping's 2015 visit to New Delhi and reaffirmed during Prime Minister Shree Narendra Modi's visit to China in May 2016.

DAY 1 – 17th JUNE 2016

The team was divided into two groups, each group having 100 delegates each and departed from the Yuva Kendra for airport to fly to Hong Kong. On 17th June 2016, the group arrived at Hong Kong International Airport at 6:00 am in the morning and checked in for the flight to Beijing and reached Beijing Airport at 12:00 pm local time. The Prestigious tour started with visit to the Sports University in Beijing, where people are being trained to perform in Olympics. The university is spread over a large area with state of the art technologies. The university has best infrastructure for best quality sports education and training equipment to nurture the finest sportsmen of the country. The visit to Sports University was followed by Banquet Dinner organized by Youth Federation of China. The delegation was addressed by Charges d’affair of Indian Embassy to China and the Director of the Youth Federation of China. The meeting was preceded by Mr. Rajeev Gupta, Secretary (Youth Affairs) and He Junke, President of the All China Youth Federation (ACYF), during which they undertook a review of the programme of exchange of youth delegations and agreed that the programme had been useful in contributing to the broad - basing of people - to - people ties between the two countries.

DAY 2 - 18th JUNE 2016

On 18th June 2016, the delegation team visited The Great Wall of China, which is 7000 km long and runs over the north capital of China as a defence mechanism. The Great Wall is a sight to watch with amazing architectural terminologies. The most interesting part of the Great Wall is to see how the Chinese government has invested lots of money to preserve its Heritage and maintain it in the best of its condition. Post visit to The Great Wall the delegation team visited the Imperial City and Forbidden City. Forbidden City is the palace of the rulers of the Ming Dynasty where only the ruler is allowed to live along with its family. The Imperial City is in the outer boundary of the Forbidden City for the ministers and the servers to the King. Later the delegation departed for the airport to board flight for Xi’an.

DAY 3 - 19th JUNE 2016

On 19th June 2016, the delegation visited Wild Goose Pagoda a Buddhist temple in Xi’an where they were acquainted with the Buddhist culture and the temple rituals. They also interacted with the monks and inquired about the doubts and facts related to Buddhism. After visit to Wild Goose Pagoda, another Buddhist temple visit was lined up. The delegation team was accompanied by two reporters from Chinese International Radio who kept record of the visit and took interviews. Later in the day the team left for visit to Xi’an Youth Centre where children in age group 4 to 18 years come in weekends to learn different types of instruments, art and craft activities and language teaching. It was a sight to watch all the children working hard and improving their skills in a specific hobby which they like and opted for.

DAY 4 - 20th JUNE 2016

On 20th June 2016, the delegation team departed for Lishan village to study and experience the construction of a new village. From Lishan Village the team visited the Pigwa Culture and Art Exhibition Hall, where they had a glance of the Pigwa culture and how their ancestors used to live and how they have transformed over a period of time.

The visit to Terra Cotta warriors was lined up where about 6000 terra cotta warriors were sacrificed when the king died. The main reason for this visit was to see how the preservation and recreation of Chinese heritage is carried out. The team also visited Chamba Ecological District and the International Port Area where they were introduced to the improvements which have been carried out in China for faster sea transportation and trade and efficient port for fast boarding and de boarding of materials and storage.

DAY 5 - 21st JUNE 2016

On 21st June 2016, all the delegates celebrated International Yoga Day in the morning and later on attended a seminar in the National University of Art and Commerce in Xi’an. Cultural performances and exchange programmes were carried out in the University Auditorium. The team interacted with the students and had the opportunity to analyze and compare their education system with Indian education system. The team then visited the Xi’an Urban Planning Museum to understand the protection and development of the ancient city. Post visit the team departed to Nanjing.

DAY 6 - 22nd JUNE 2016

On 22nd June 2016, the team visited the Nanjing Arts and Crafts Museum where the ancient handicrafts and weapons used and made by the people in the ancient China are preserved. This was followed by visit to the Nanjing Academy of Agricultural Sciences, a visit to New Countryside in Pukou District.

DAY 7 - 23RD JUNE 2016

On 23rd June 2016, a visit to Memorial Hall of the victims in Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders was scheduled. The sight was heartbreaking to see the suffering of the citizens of Nanjing and China during the massacre. The team also visited Jiangsu Provincial Museum and departed for Shanghai by High Speed train.

DAY 8 - 24th JUNE 2016

On 24th June 2016, the delegation team visited the Oriental Green Boat Athlete Training Base where they witnessed the amenities and technology provided by the Chinese government for betterment of its youth and investment in sports. The education system and rigorous trainings have made the future of sports better in China. Post visit to M50 Creativity Park the Indian youth delegation finally departed for homeland, India by Air India flight. It was really an enriching experience for all the delegates and helped in understanding the working and governance of The People’s Republic of China.