This photo taken on Oct. 16, 2025 shows the closing ceremony of a program under the "Red Study Tours" initiative attended by Vietnamese youth in southwest China's Chongqing. (Xinhua)
By writer Nguyen Phuong Ngan, Hu Jiali, Liu Ying
HANOI, April 15 (Xinhua) -- For many young Vietnamese participants, the "Red Study Tours" across China were far more than a sightseeing trip, offering instead a journey through shared revolutionary history and fresh inspiration for the younger generation.
Le Van Dai, a student at the University of Languages and International Studies in Vietnam's capital city of Hanoi, vividly recalled his experience visiting the former residence of the late Vietnamese leader Ho Chi Minh in Kunming, capital of southwest China's Yunnan province, during a study tour in late March.
"Everything felt so familiar, as if I had traveled back in time to meet Uncle Ho in person," Dai told Xinhua, describing the simple house where revolutionary documents and personal belongings were carefully preserved.
Launched in May 2025, the "Red Study Tours" initiative seeks to facilitate exchanges between young people in China and Vietnam. From May 2025 to March 2026, a total of eight themed camps across 10 provincial-level regions in China were organized under the initiative, providing more than 1,000 Vietnamese youths with the opportunity to experience China firsthand.
Dai, also a volunteer guide at the Ho Chi Minh Museum in Hanoi, said the experience deepened his understanding of the Vietnamese leader's revolutionary activities in China and enriched his work at the museum.
Echoing similar sentiments, Le Quang Trang, a writer from Vietnam's southern An Giang province, said the journey left him with unforgettable impressions of Ho Chi Minh's revolutionary path in China.
"Lying on the train at night as we traveled between destinations, I kept imagining the years when President Ho Chi Minh crossed mountains and streams in search of a path to save the nation. It is a spirit of determination that our generation should learn for life," Trang emphasized.
Trang said visiting the Great Wall also left a deep impression on him. "Looking at the endless bricks stacked together, I imagined each brick as a soldier. Some may be higher, some lower, each with a different role, but their close connection enabled the wall to endure thousands of years of war and storms," he said, adding that the visit inspired his plan to write a book on solidarity and public spirit.
Around 200 youth representatives from various sectors of Vietnam are currently in Beijing on study tours as part of the "Red Study Tours" initiative.
For Nguyen Thi Mai Thuy, a reporter from Vietnam's local media Thoi Dai, the trip also revealed a different side of contemporary China through the innovative urban landscape of southwest China's Chongqing municipality.
She said the city's futuristic skyline and dynamic nightscape made her feel as if she were witnessing a real-life "cyberpunk" metropolis.
After posting videos of the scenes on social media platforms, many friends and fellow journalists responded with surprise and admiration, saying that "China actually comes from the future."
"The vivid real-life images were more persuasive than any dry statistics, helping people gain a new understanding of a modern and dynamic China," Thuy added.
Meanwhile, Nguyen Thi Lan Huong, a tourism professional from central Vietnam's Hue city, who visited revolutionary heritage exhibition sites in Chongqing, said the tour also provided practical lessons in heritage preservation and the use of technology in cultural education.
"The photos and materials were arranged in a highly immersive way as they were not just for people to read, but to truly feel," Huong said, adding that she found herself standing for quite a while because the storytelling was so engaging.
She noted that the experience offered valuable insights for Vietnam's own heritage tourism development.
"I believe Hue can absolutely develop historical tourism products in a more immersive way by combining technology to make the stories more attractive," she said. ■
Nguyen Thi Mai Thuy (1st R), a reporter from Vietnam's local media Thoi Dai, visits the former residence of the late Vietnamese leader Ho Chi Minh in southwest China's Chongqing, Oct. 13, 2025. (Xinhua)
Le Van Dai (1st R), a student at the University of Languages and International Studies in Vietnam's capital city of Hanoi, visits a rural development project in north China's Hebei Province, March 30, 2026. (Xinhua)
