Cross-Regional Multi-Ethnic Youth Exchange Demonstration Project
Bridging Dalian in Liaoning and Shihezi in Xinjiang across 2,800 kilometers of mountains and seas, "Lianjiang Co-Creation · Oasis Bond" Youth Environmental Four Comic Contest is a cross-regional multi-ethnic youth exchange demonstration project cultivated by the General Office of the National Ethnic Affairs Commission, with coordinated guidance from ethnic affairs departments at the provincial, municipal, and district levels, led and implemented by the Dalian Youth Public Welfare Development Promotion Association.
Anchored in the core theme of forging a strong sense of community for the Chinese nation, the project leverages the east-west counterpart assistance mechanism, using four-panel comic art as a vehicle that integrates three core pillars: ethnic cultural heritage, ecological and environmental education, and youth pairing exchanges. It builds a national unity aesthetic education practice brand supported by both online and offline coordination and lasting institutional infrastructure.
Bringing together multi-disciplinary experts to provide comprehensive professional guidance for youth creation
Core art educators from primary and secondary schools in both cities, guiding creative techniques
Specialists in oasis ecology and marine conservation, designing thematic curricula
Bearers of ethnic motifs and traditional crafts, infusing cultural DNA
Local artists providing on-site teaching, conveying multi-ethnic artistic expression
A full implementation chain connecting short-term co-creation, two-way visits, and lasting institutional infrastructure
A dedicated online creation platform was built, featuring a series of cloud classrooms on ethnic motifs, oasis, and marine environmental themes. Youth from both cities collaborated remotely to produce over 1,000 original four-panel comics.
Dalian artists traveled to Shihezi for on-site teaching, while Shihezi youth participated in a Dalian study camp, experiencing marine ecology, urban culture, and intangible cultural heritage skills firsthand.
Creative markets launched simultaneously in both cities, with all proceeds from youth comic-inspired eco-friendly merchandise sales directed to border region youth public welfare initiatives.
The project's conclusion saw the simultaneous launch of a lasting institutional vehicle — the Shihezi "Sunshine in the Tongcang" Youth Environmental Art Co-Creation Base. DLYCA donated dedicated funds to replicate its locally matured "Tongcang" operational model, equipping the base with picture books, art supplies, and science education kits, while regularly offering ethnic crafts and environmental painting public-interest classes.
50 outstanding youth were selected as "Ethnic Environmental Art Ambassadors," carrying out long-term national unity and ecological aesthetic education outreach in schools and communities.
The project innovatively bridges the "Short-term Co-Creation — Two-Way Visits — Lasting Infrastructure" exchange loop, effectively enhancing cultural identity and ecological responsibility among youth of all ethnicities, forming a replicable and scalable model for east-west youth interaction, exchange, and integration. It provides a vivid youth practice sample for deepening the Dalian-Shihezi bond and forging a strong sense of community for the Chinese nation.
Learn more about the latest developments in the Four Comics Contest and become a volunteer or partner in advancing national unity aesthetic education.
