On the afternoon of April 1, the Award Ceremony of the Photography and Short Video Competition for Foreign Teachers and Students from Qingdao Universities was successfully held at the International Academic Exchange Center of Qingdao Binhai University. The event was hosted by the Foreign Affairs Office of the CPC Qingdao Municipal Committee and jointly organized by Qingdao Binhai University and the Qingdao International Cooperation and Exchange Center.

The ceremony was attended by Fan Qizhi, Director of the Foreign Affairs Office of the CPC Qingdao Municipal Committee; Che Bin, Secretary of the Party Committee of Qingdao Binhai University; Han Xiaomeng, Executive Vice President of Qingdao Binhai University; Huang Fang, Director of the International Cooperation and Exchange Office and Dean of the International Education College at China University of Petroleum (East China); Zhou Yunxu, Dean of the International Education College of Qingdao University; and Zhang Peng, Director of the International Exchange Office and Dean of the International Education College of Qingdao University of Technology.

The event also welcomed award-winning teachers and students from seven universities in Qingdao, as well as representatives from various universities.

The competition began in February 2025, attracting enthusiastic participation from foreign teachers and students from institutions such as China University of Petroleum (East China), Qingdao University, and Shandong University of Science and Technology. Participants used their cameras to capture traditional customs such as pasting Spring Festival couplets, writing the Chinese character "Fu", and visiting temple fairs, as well as modern New Year scenes like city light shows and New Year's markets.

These works vividly showcased the unique charm of Spring Festival as an intangible cultural heritage. The competition received over 200 photography and short video works, and after expert evaluation, first, second, and third prizes, as well as Outstanding Organization Awards, were announced.

The first prize was awarded to Romina, an Iranian international student from Qingdao University of Technology, who presented a short video capturing the Spring Festival market in Qingdao’s old town. In her heartfelt speech, Romina expressed, "This experience made me deeply feel the warmth and emotion of the Chinese New Year... In the future, I hope to learn Chinese well and continue to record more wonderful moments of Chinese culture through videos, sharing this joy with the world!"

Che Bin, Secretary of the Party Committee of Qingdao Binhai University, emphasized that the foreign teachers and students telling Chinese stories through their lenses was a vivid practice of civilizational exchange. He added that Qingdao Binhai University would leverage the platform of the International Folk Diplomacy Research Center of the Shandong Provincial Foreign Affairs Research and Development Think Tank to enhance research on international folk diplomacy, fostering more cross-cultural dialogue and cooperation.

The award ceremony featured a variety of cultural performances by international students, including the dance "The Last Song of the Mural", Tai Chi performances, a choir singing "I Love You, China", and the song and dance performance. These performances creatively blended traditional cultural elements with modern art forms, earning rounds of applause from the audience.