SHENYANG, June 25 (Xinhua) -- American and Chinese students forged friendships and shared artistic visions during a photography-centered cultural exchange in Shenyang, northeast China's Liaoning Province, over the past week.

Fourteen students and faculty members from Northeastern Illinois University (NEIU) partnered with students from Shenyang City University for immersive cultural activities in Shenyang. The week-long program, organized with the Liaoning Provincial People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (LPPAFFC), featured collaborative photography projects, lively joint workshops, and cultural exploration.

Teams of students from both universities captured shared experiences: friendly basketball matches, traditional Chinese opera costume sessions, and explorations of historical sites like the Industrial Museum of China and 1905 Cultural and Creative Park.

"I really liked the talent show, especially the dances, and the vibrancy of the singing. The costumes were really pretty. It was really great," said Elizabeth Fernanda Baca Garcia, an NEIU arts student.

Her Chinese counterpart Li Quan, a broadcasting major at Shenyang City University, highlighted the camaraderie: "We discovered mutual passions like anime, practiced languages, and built a strong bond through photography."

"I've been wanting to know a bit more about Chinese history and stuff like that, and then maybe more daily life like both in cities and rural areas. I also would like to learn at least a little more of the language," said student Sofija Vijoleta-Takako Baykun.

Zhang Guoliang, an official from the LPPAFFC, underscored the program's significance as a concrete outcome of the sister-state relationship between Liaoning and Illinois, and the sister-city bond linking Shenyang and Chicago.

"These young participants fostered authentic friendship in an open atmosphere. It broadened horizons for our students while offering American visitors genuine insight into Chinese culture," Zhang said.

"The students and the faculty are just so welcoming and wonderful and very knowledgeable and friendly. It's really a gift for us to come and be so welcomed," NEIU photography instructor Nathan Zachary Mathews noted. ■