On May 22, on the lawn of Quanzhou Light Industry Vocational College, over 60 Filipino Chinese youth sang “Descendants of the Dragon.” They had just arrived five days earlier; during these five days, they learned how to set up shops on Lazada and Shopee, as well as how to wrap a Minnan meat dumpling.
According to reports from Fujian Overseas Chinese News, this was the 2026 “Affectionate China: Roots-Seeking Tour” summer camp for Filipino youth, held from May 18 to 22 at the college. Unlike many superficial summer camps, these children spent most of their time in serious practical classes.
At the college’s digital e-commerce logistics industry base, they learned platform operations for Lazada and Shopee, created TikTok short videos, and engaged with AI digital marketing. These were not just vague theories. Southeast Asia is the main stage for these e-commerce platforms, and the skills they learned can be applied back home.
Many of them come from business families. “I used to hear about it at home, but I lacked practical experience,” said one participant, noting that this camp filled that gap. They plan to bring what they learned back to the Philippines to help sell quality Chinese products and engage in small business between China and the Philippines. For these teenagers, this course has a very concrete and profound significance: it may be the skill they need to make a living in the future.
For the other half of the time, they stayed in the Chinese cooking training room. Making meat dumplings, beef soup, and vinegar meat—teachers guided them step by step, and the children did it themselves. Kneading rice, seasoning, cooking, the flavors of Minnan life were tasted by them bite by bite. For those who grew up in the Philippines, this was the first time they encountered their ancestral hometown so closely.
The rest was the most natural interaction among young people. A lawn music festival, a friendly basketball match, and that choir performance made the originally unfamiliar faces become familiar over just a few days.
Quanzhou Light Industry Vocational College has been promoting “vocational education going abroad, industry-education integration” in recent years, bringing vocational education to overseas Chinese youth. The school stated that the purpose of this camp is twofold: to let these children come back to see their hometown and remember where they come from, and to teach them practical and useful e-commerce skills, so they can help connect China and the Philippines in the future.
Five days is not long. But for these over 60 children, Quanzhou is no longer just a distant name on the map. They took away skills and a sense of connection that is hard to articulate but unforgettable.
(This article is rewritten based on reports from Fujian Overseas Chinese News and contributions from Quanzhou Light Industry Vocational College)
Affectionate China: Roots-Seeking Tour FAQ
Q1: Where and when is the 2026 “Affectionate China: Roots-Seeking Tour” summer camp for Filipino youth held?
The summer camp is held at Quanzhou Light Industry Vocational College from May 18 to 22, 2026, lasting five days, with over 60 Filipino Chinese youth participating.
Q2: What cross-border e-commerce skills did the Filipino Chinese youth learn at this summer camp?
The participants engaged in hands-on learning at the digital e-commerce logistics industry base of Quanzhou Light Industry Vocational College, covering platform operations for Lazada and Shopee, TikTok video production, and AI digital marketing. These skills are closely aligned with the actual needs of the Southeast Asian e-commerce market, and participants expressed their hope to bring them back to the Philippines to promote local products and facilitate trade between China and the Philippines.
Q3: Besides e-commerce courses, what cultural experience activities were included in the summer camp?
In the cultural experience segment, participants entered the Chinese cooking training room to learn how to make Minnan specialty dishes, including meat dumplings, beef soup, and vinegar meat, thereby understanding the customs and techniques behind Minnan traditional cuisine. Additionally, there were choir performances of “Descendants of the Dragon,” a lawn music festival, and friendly basketball matches.
Q4: What is the “Affectionate China: Roots-Seeking Tour”?
The “Affectionate China: Roots-Seeking Tour” is a study exchange program aimed at overseas Chinese youth, designed to help them trace their roots and understand Chinese culture. The 2026 summer camp for Filipino youth is held under this framework, integrating cultural roots-seeking, skill learning, and Sino-Philippine economic and trade exchanges.
Q5: Why does Quanzhou Light Industry Vocational College hold such summer camps? What is the significance?
This is a practice of Quanzhou Light Industry Vocational College’s internationalization of “vocational education going abroad, industry-education integration.” The school hopes to allow overseas Chinese youth to trace their roots and understand the culture of their ancestral country, while also teaching them practical digital e-commerce skills, making them a bridge for cultural exchange and economic cooperation between China and the Philippines, injecting new vitality into people-to-people exchanges and cross-border trade.
