分类： society

As the world prepares to mark World Book Day on Thursday, young pupils at No 1 Experimental Primary School in Guangping county, Handan City, Hebei Province have already turned specially designed campus reading corners into their favorite gathering spots during break periods.

This grassroots reading initiative is not a one-off event for the annual celebration, but the newest addition to the region’s long-running “Bookish Campus” campaign, a multi-year effort that aims to embed a love of reading into daily school life across Guangping county.

Local education authorities have noted that the steady push to upgrade campus reading spaces, paired with consistent, engaging literacy-focused activities over the years, has delivered tangible positive outcomes for students. Beyond just sparking greater curiosity and enthusiasm for reading among young learners, the campaign has also lifted overall academic performance across participating schools. More importantly, educators and officials emphasize that fostering a consistent reading habit from an early age builds a strong foundational cultural awareness that supports the holistic growth of students, preparing them for long-term learning and personal development.

In a moving tribute that blends literary commemoration with national remembrance, multiple primary and secondary schools across Shenyang, Liaoning Province, have organized coordinated read-aloud events to honor the recently returned remains of Chinese martyrs who fell during the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea (1950-1953). The events were carefully scheduled to align with both the 31st iteration of World Book and Copyright Day, observed annually on April 23, and the official burial ceremony for the 13th batch of fallen soldiers’ remains being laid to rest in Chinese soil.

Students taking part in the activities centered their recitations on *The Most Lovable People*, a well-known textbook article that chronicles the bravery, sacrifice, and unwavering dedication of Chinese volunteer soldiers who fought in the 1950-1953 conflict. One of the participating institutions, Northeast Yucai School, documented the event with photos showing students gathered to share the text, their voices carrying tributes to the generations of servicemembers who gave their lives for national security and peace.

The dual-purpose event organizers designed the gathering to achieve two meaningful goals: to encourage young people to engage with meaningful literary works as part of World Book Day celebrations, and to instill a deeper sense of national memory and respect for the sacrifices made by early-generation national heroes. By connecting classroom learning to a real national moment of commemoration, the activities helped turn a routine literary celebration into a profound lesson on patriotism for participating students. The event, updated on April 23 2026, marks one of many annual tributes held as China continues to repatriate the remains of fallen Korean War servicemembers from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, holding formal burial ceremonies to honor their service decades after the end of the conflict.

Every year, when the third lunar month arrives, tens of thousands of worshippers across Taiwan launch into a centuries-old devotional tradition: a days-long procession to celebrate the birth of Mazu, the revered Chinese sea goddess. The event, affectionately nicknamed “March Madness for Mazu”, draws participants of all ages, bound together by shared faith and cultural heritage that stretches across the Taiwan Strait.

The most iconic of these annual gatherings is the Dajia Mazu Pilgrimage, centered on a sacred statue of the goddess housed at Dajia Jenn Lann Temple in central Taiwan’s Taichung. For 2026, the pilgrimage kicked off on the evening of April 17, with a nine-day, eight-night journey that will cover more than 300 kilometers. The procession winds through four counties and cities—Taichung, Changhua, Yunlin, and Chiayi—paying respects at nearly 100 local temples before returning to its starting point on April 26.

One of the pilgrimage’s most anticipated milestones took place on Tuesday morning, when a grand birthday ritual was held at Hsin Kang Feng Tian Temple in Chiayi. Starting promptly at 8 a.m., the solemn ceremony unfolded at an outdoor altar, drawing tens of thousands of devotees who had traveled from across the island to take part. The formal observance ran for roughly two hours, capping a week of steady travel for the procession.

While the largest celebration unfolds across Taiwan, devotional events are also held simultaneously at Mazu’s ancestral temple on China’s Meizhou Island, Fujian Province—the origin point of Mazu belief. This year, representatives from 77 Taiwanese Mazu temples traveled to Meizhou to join the cross-Strait celebrations, reinforcing the deep shared roots of the faith on both sides of the water.

Scholars and devotees alike emphasize that Mazu worship is far more than a religious tradition: it is a living testament to the centuries-old cultural and historical ties that bind the two sides of the Taiwan Strait. The figure of Mazu is rooted in the story of Lin Mo, a 10th-century woman from Meizhou Island who was revered for her work rescuing imperiled seafarers, and eventually deified as a patron of those who travel the seas. A core element of shared Minnan culture, which unites Fujian and Taiwan, the belief was brought to Taiwan by early migrants from the Chinese mainland, and has grown to become one of the most widespread faiths on the island. Today, Taiwan counts more than 10 million Mazu followers and more than 800 temples dedicated to the goddess.

For many participants, the pilgrimage is a demanding but deeply meaningful personal commitment. Many devotees have walked the entire route since the procession launched on April 17, and even unseasonably warm weather did little to dampen turnout or enthusiasm. Pilgrims travel light but prepared, carrying tents, folding stools, and extra clothing, while communities along the route open public facilities—including local schools—to offer free accommodation and rest stops for participants.

Hung Chien-chieh, a 50-something devotee from central Taiwan, has joined the pilgrimage every year for a decade. A foot injury means he alternates between walking and cycling the route, but he has no plans to stop. For Hung, the faith also opens a desire for deeper cross-Strait connection: “I hope to attend Mazu-related events on the mainland and eventually invite a Mazu statue back home for worship,” he explained.

Volunteers are the backbone of the event, with hundreds of community members turning out each year to offer free services to pilgrims. Ms. Gong, a long-time volunteer who has distributed cold watermelons to passing procession participants for years, describes Mazu as a timeless symbol of core values that unite the community. “Mazu represents compassion, kindness, and perseverance—those are values that bind all of us here,” she said. Other volunteers note that the number of people offering free support grows each year, building a powerful sense of shared community along the route.

The tradition is also successfully passing to younger generations, with many young Taiwanese people taking on key roles in the procession. Lin Chin-cheng, a 27-year-old from Taichung, has participated every year since he was 21, and he plans to keep taking part long into the future. His team handles ceremonial items including processional parasols, sacred flags, and ritual gongs, carrying these symbolic objects the full length of the route.

Following Tuesday’s birthday ceremony at Hsin Kang Feng Tian Temple, the procession departed for the final leg of its journey, heading back to Dajia Jenn Lann Temple. In recent years, modern technology has made the beloved tradition more accessible to people who cannot attend in person: dedicated mobile apps offer real-time route tracking, and official and community livestreams bring the procession to followers around the world.

Mazu belief has long served as a powerful bridge for cross-Strait exchange, even during periods of political tension. In 1987, after decades of limited contact across the Strait, a delegation from Dajia Jenn Lann Temple made a landmark journey to Meizhou Island via Japan, becoming one of the first major Taiwanese groups to pay tribute at the ancestral Mazu temple after years of separation. Just a few months before this year’s pilgrimage, in March 2026, a new delegation of Mazu temple representatives from Taichung and Changhua traveled to Meizhou to worship, reaffirming the shared cultural heritage that unites people across the Strait.

In 2009, Mazu belief and customs were officially inscribed on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, recognizing its global cultural significance. Lee Fong-mao, a retired religious studies professor from Taipei’s Chengchi University and a leading expert on Taiwanese folk belief, notes that traditions like Mazu worship offer a clear reflection of the deep ancestral connections that bind Taiwan to the Chinese mainland. “These folk beliefs are living proof of the shared cultural ties shaped by shared geography and common lineage, connecting people in Taiwan to their ancestral roots on the mainland,” Lee explained.

BEIJING – In a landmark push to center young people’s needs in national urban development strategy, 15 Chinese government agencies including the Communist Youth League of China (CYLC), the Cyberspace Administration of China, the National Development and Reform Commission, and the Ministry of Education have jointly released a comprehensive policy package designed to cultivate youth-friendly cities across the country. The initiative forms a core part of China’s broader goal to build people-centered modern cities and inject new vitality into social and economic development, with clear long-term targets set for 2030 and 2035.

Outlined in the newly published guidance are 18 targeted measures that aim to reshape Chinese cities into dynamic hubs where young people can access high-quality career opportunities, enjoy improved living standards, and actively participate in urban governance. Framed as a practical implementation of China’s “people’s city” development philosophy, the policy requires that youth-centric development priorities be integrated into every stage of urban planning, infrastructure construction, and public governance. Local authorities are mandated to systematically improve conditions to help young people relocate to urban areas, settle smoothly, live comfortably, and build fulfilling careers.

To address young people’s top priority of employment and entrepreneurship, the policy lays out multiple supporting initiatives. At the industrial level, China will strengthen coordination between technological progress and industrial innovation, advance the transformation and upgrading of traditional sectors, nurture fast-growing emerging industries, and lay the groundwork for future-focused industries, all with the goal of creating more high-quality jobs that support youth innovation. Young entrepreneurs will receive expanded support through specialized platforms such as youth entrepreneur associations and targeted training programs for private sector professionals, to boost the participation of young talent in the private economy. The guidance also calls for optimized mechanisms to identify, train and deploy young innovative talent, encourages young researchers to take leading roles in national major scientific and technological projects, and provides enhanced support for youth-led startups in funding, technological resources, and workspaces.

Beyond economic opportunities, the policy addresses key quality of life challenges facing young urban residents. In urban planning, local governments are required to add youth development indicators to official city evaluation systems, allocate more public space tailored to young people’s needs during urban renewal projects, and explore flexible planning standards to support youth-focused public services. To ease rising housing and commuting pressures, cities are encouraged to construct more dormitory-style housing and small, affordable apartments in areas with high youth employment concentrations, near education and medical facilities, and along major public transit routes. The package also includes provisions to expand public services that support young families: it calls for rolling out childcare subsidies, implementing coordinated support policies covering housing, transportation and consumption to encourage childbirth, increasing the number of mother-and-child facilities in public spaces, and expanding the availability of maternity and child-friendly hospitals to improve maternal and child healthcare.

The policy sets out clear phased goals for the initiative: by 2030, the development concept of building youth-centered cities will be broadly accepted and implemented across the country; by 2035, China aims to establish a relatively complete and mature institutional system for youth-oriented urban development. Officials note that the initiative will not only improve well-being for young people, but also drive long-term sustainable social and economic growth by leveraging young people’s creativity and dynamism.