On the afternoon of August 14, Guangzhou’s People’s Park was buzzing with energy as young people from around the world joined local residents for a friendly game of pickleball.

The event was part of the 2026 PLACE Language and Cultural Exchange Summer Camp at The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Guangzhou), under the “Global Youth Discover Guangzhou” program. More than 160 international students from over 40 countries stepped into the heart of the city to experience Guangzhou through sports, calligraphy and face-to-face cultural exchange.

Among them were 42 university students from friendship cities including Los Angeles, Boston and San Francisco in the United States, Bristol in the UK, Frankfurt in Germany and Lyon in France.

From trying their hands at traditional Chinese calligraphy to playing sports alongside local residents, the young visitors experienced Guangzhou not simply as tourists, but as participants in the city’s vibrant everyday life.

For these international students, every stroke of the brush, every rally on the court and every conversation with a local resident offered a glimpse into the warmth, openness and down-to-earth spirit of Guangzhou.

On the evening of August 14, the lights along both banks of the Pearl River shimmered against the night sky as more than 160 international students from over 40 countries boarded a river cruise to discover Guangzhou after dark.