By Wang Zihan, Du Mi, Meng Lanjuan
Communication University of China (CUC) students participated in a patriotic Frontier Guard education program in Arxan, Inner Mongolia, with over 100college peers nationwide. The program, titled Braving Frontier Winds and Snow: Standing Guard for the Motherland—Youth Advancingwith the Country, fosters national pride through service-based learning, andsupportslocal tourism and rural revitalization with CUC's media expertise.
Led by border defense officers and soldiers,students joined frontier patrols along Arxan's snow-covered border. They also visited Chairman's Corridor, amemorial exhibition honoring the history of border defense and revolutionaryactivities in the region.
Together, theysang the song The One I Love Most and recited Mao Zedong's poem Snow—To the Tune of Qingyuanchunat the national gateway of Arxan Porton the China-Mongolia border.
Faculty and students held up flags to form the characters "Motherland" in front of the majestic national gateway.
Onboard the Arxan tourist train, CUC students put on various ethnic style artperformances. Zhang Shiyue, Liu Zixi, and Liu Zichen, trainees of the 9th Session oftheYouth Marxist Program, presented the Uyghur dance Balangzai. And Shi Xinyanand Zhao Yinuo from the School of Information and Communication staged aShaoxing Opera show of The Butterfly Lovers: Farewell at Eighteen Miles.
The event also featured interactive performances at Taikang Art Center at Arxan,where the Ulan Muqir troupe joined students in putting up culturally-themed showshighlighting local traditions and scenic beauty.
These activities embody rich cultural traditions of the country and help fosterawareness ofa strong sense of community for the Chinese nation.
Left: The Uyghur dance Balangzi showcased the vibrant ethnic traditions of Xinjiang.
Right:The Butterfly Lovers brought a cross-cultural exchange between northern and southern traditions to the stage.
Leveraging Media Expertise for Local Development
At Arxan UNESCO Global Geopark, students conducted field research to explore themystery of this natural wonder. The Geopark is an integration of volcanic geologicallandscapes, forests and wetland water systems. Even in a temperature below -30°C,the Unfrozen River remains in constant flow.
Students gained first-hand insight into the region's unique ecology through fieldwork at the geopark.
At the Blue House cultural landmark, students leveraged their academic expertise toorganize themed filming sessions, creating quality visual content to promote northernborderland ecological culture and tourism development.
The team also mapped tourist routes, filmed ecological assets, and generated fieldresearch findingsto create targeted media promotionstrategies, as part of the effortsofCUC's poverty alleviation initiative in Arxan.
The Culture, Tourism and Sports Bureau of Hinggan League appointed CUC facultyand students as Cultural Tourism Promotion Ambassadors, and presented them withofficial certificates. The appointment ceremony was hosted by Dong Xinjiefrom theYouth Marxist Program.
Running alongside the field study, the Fairy Tale Arxan: Youth Video Chroniclecompetition featured CUC students as main contributors of entries.
CUC students published their works about Arxan on Chinese social media platforms.
Focusing on Arxan's red heritage tourism resources, natural landscapes, Ulan Muqirculture and rural revitalization practices, they employed first-person vlogs, on-cameranarrations and visual travel guides to capture Arxan's winter appeal.
The content gained significant traction across Douyin, Xiaohongshu and WeChatChannels, providing media support for the high-quality development of Arxan'scultural tourism industry.
Editor: Li Shuxuan, Fang Yiran
Managing Editor: Meng Lanjuan
Editor-in-chief: Yu Ran, Yang Zhongtian
