From China with love
Pramod Sharma and Ankita Rao recount their experience of a visit to the People’s Republic of China during a peace exchange programme

GOOD fences make good neighbours. Countries like India spend a huge amount of their budget defending their borders. But what if we knock down these fences, jump into our neighbour’s yard and decide to create a long-lasting friendship? For a long time, China and India have been more of rivals than friends. While China is an established superpower, India is an emerging player on the global stage. Both have huge populations, together comprising almost half of the world’s population and traditions steeped in the ancient texts. 

The team members visited sites like the Temple of Heaven, posh cafes and shopping areas. They attended cultural events and had a taste of real China in its narrow streets and family houses

In an effort to understand the neighbouring country better, a team from Yuvsatta, an NGO, recently embarked on a peace trip to China. The team included teenagers, advocates, social workers and university students with a vision to have a deeper understanding of China.

Beginning with a warm reception and dinner at the Embassy of People’s Republic of China in New Delhi, the generosity of the host country was extended over the next 10 days through their organisation, CPAFFC (Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries).

The two neighbours have a number of things in common. Like India, China is a contrast of the old and the new. While on the one hand, glass and steel skyscrapers adorn the city of Beijing, on the other hand Tiananmen Square and the Great Wall of China give us a slice of its history. What is striking about Beijing, besides the clean, green roadways, is the orderly traffic sense, which is evident in the jampacked streets.

During its tour, the team was led through exciting excursions to the cities of Beijing and Tianjen. The team members visited sites like the Temple of Heaven, posh cafes and shopping areas, and a taste of real life in narrows streets and family houses. An interesting observation was the concept of active neighbourhoods. Every evening, people would gather together to practice kung fu, exercise and play.

The visiting team members also got a flavour of India in China. At Peking University, they met Chinese students with Indian nicknames like Akash, Uday and Lata. These students were learning Hindi. The hosts also arranged for them to eat at an Indian restaurant one day where they savoured naan and dal tadka made by a chef from Uttaranchal.

Besides all this cultural exchange, the Yuvsatta team members and their Chinese counterparts had brainstorming sessions on how the two countries could ensure closer ties.

During one of the sessions, the host counterparts mentioned that while the rule of the Chinese government, which made it mandatory to have only one child, had helped to control the booming population, it also meant that a whole generation was born without brothers and sisters. The session concluded that a China-India family could be the beginning of a new way to build relationships on both sides of the border. This could go well with the Sanskrit saying “Vasudhev kutumbakam” which means the whole world is one family. Having better exchange programmes could support this idea of brotherhood, sisterhood and a bright future for such relationships.

As the trip grew to a close, one reflected on the unmatched hospitality that CPAFFC demonstrated throughout the trip. Until the very last moments when the Chinese friends travelled four hours away just to say goodbye, one could feel that the myths and assumptions India and China have about each other were melting away.

It is now for the youth of the two countries to join hands to build bridges that go beyond political barriers. It is time for the nations to share their resources and education for the mutual benefit of each other. This bridge, built on respect and love, could be the answer not only to the students but also the governments of two of the world’s greatest countries. And while this trip was a small drop in the ocean, its ripples could reach far and wide.