HOHHOT, July 30 (Xinhua) -- A group of scholars from several Japanese universities visited Tongliao, north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, on Monday and Tuesday, exploring the region's cultural heritage and ecological transformation.
During their visit to the city's Jarud Banner, the scholars experienced the rich cultural traditions of the Mongolian ethnic group, watching performances of the bowl-balancing dance and Khoomei, a traditional Mongolian singing art.
"The unique ethnic cultures here have left a deep impression on me," said Tomoki Kamo, a professor with the Faculty of Policy Management at Keio University, dressed in a traditional Mongolian robe.
At the Jarud Banner Printmaking Institute, the scholars observed the process of traditional printmaking. The distinctive techniques used in the printmaking have been passed down through generations.
"Traditional ethnic art in China has been well preserved and developed here," said Yuji Miyamoto, president of the Japan-China Friendship Center and former Japanese ambassador to China. "Art can serve as a bridge to deepen people-to-people exchanges between China and Japan."
The Japanese delegation also visited a desertification control project in Horqin Left Wing Rear Banner. The project has transformed the once-barren landscape into a lush forest within decades.
"I can't believe that this area -- once a desert -- now hosts hundreds of lakes," said Ryuji Hattori, a professor at Chuo University, expressing awe at the region's ecological recovery. "It's incredible that the Horqin sandy land has turned green in just over 20 years."
Chogtu, who works at the local forestry station, told the delegation that the area was once severely desertified due to overgrazing. However, persistent afforestation efforts have paid off. Thanks to a spate of innovative desertification-control methods, including shallow-buried drip irrigation, the survival rate of seedlings has increased from 50 percent to 90 percent.
Before their trip to Tongliao, the Japanese scholars also attended a forum on the friendship and cultural exchange between China and Japan in Beijing on Sunday. The forum was launched by the China Foundation for Human Rights Development and the Japan-China Friendship Center in 2024.
Miyamoto said he hopes the forum will facilitate further exchanges between the young people of the two countries. "People-to-people exchanges between the two countries will continue to grow stronger."
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