As part of a drive to enhance mutual understanding, 22 college students from China and the US braved the scorching summer heat to explore and document Beijing's cultural life this month.

With video cameras in hand, they will take part in a  program called "Looking at Beijing."

The students, mostly majoring in communications, comprised 10 students from Boston University and Emory University, and 12 Chinese students from Beijing Normal University (BNU), who were divided into 11 pairs consisting of a foreign student and a Chinese student.

On July 8, the Chinese students met their partners for the first time at the airport and got to know each other over dinner. Shooting started July 10 and lasted five days, followed by postproduction. All work was done by the students.

On Sunday, their work debuted to the public and will soon be uploaded on the Internet.

"This activity is hosted by our college," Wu Simeng, a freshman from BNU, told the Global Times. "When I saw the notice posted in school, I was attracted by the idea of portraying Beijing from our perspective and making a video."

However, the American students could not speak Chinese fluently, which posed some challenges to the project.

"When our communication was broken by industry terms, I would turn to the dictionary and gesture. My partner is very smart, and would understand immediately," Wu said.

"We gained a better understanding of China's culture, and established relationships with each other," she added.

Overcoming obstacles

Wu and Harry Joseph, from the College of Communication at Boston University, made their video about a dumpling restaurant. Even before they began shooting, the two students were confronted by some difficulties.

"Since Harry was curious about Chinese cuisine, we planned to shoot in some restaurants, but many refused our request to film inside for fear of being exposed to the public," Wu said.

"When other groups started shooting, I was very depressed and frustrated."

However, thanks to Harry's efforts, they found a dumpling restaurant that was happy to open its doors to a camera.

Compared with professional shooting teams, the students used fairly simple equipment: a tripod, a microphone, and an SLR (single lens reflex) camera.

The short time given to shoot footage, only five days, made for some very long days of carrying around the heavy camera. But both say they learned a lot from this rewarding experience.

"I not only improved my English but also learned how to respect different values," said Wu, adding that in the editing process the two chose to blend elements of their respective cultures into the final footage.

Best in show

Zeng Sijie, a sophomore at BNU, and Jahi Villinger from the School of Business at Emory University created a piece on acrobats at Beijing Acrobatics School in Daxing district.

The duo made friends with the students there, ranging in age from 10 to 24, and collected lots of footage that reflects the charm and perseverence of these athletes pursuing their dreams.

As the school is very far from BNU, the two students put in some very long days, often working more than 12 hours straight. Their hard work paid off when their film was awarded best video.

But Zeng and Villinger say what they treasure most about this experience is the friendship they developed over the long hours, constantly supporting each other to keep working hard.

For them, it was a sad goodbye. On Monday, when the foreign students went back home, Zeng cried out at the airport, "We might never meet again, separated by Pacific Ocean!"

Lasting memories

Sun Wanqiu, a junior at BNU, and Noah Starr, who graduated from Emory University, went to  Zhoukoudian, a cave system which has yielded many archaeological discoveries, including the Peking Man in Fangshan district, 50 kilometers from Beijing's downtown area, and Milu Park in Daxing distict.

Milu Park was once a hunting ground for royalty in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), and today it is a preserve area, which stimulated Noah's curiosity.

Since those two places are far from the city center, the duo spent half of the time on the road.

Trouble sprouted over Starr's insitence on bringing some heavy, specialized equipment on long treks to the sites, but according to Sun, the minor spats that followed actually brought them together.

"The quarrel bettered our mutual understanding and made our work process smooth."

By the end of shooting, Noah told Sun that he was impressed by China's splendid history and prosperity.

This is the second year that BNU has hosted "Looking at Beijing," whose aim is to explore a new channel to introduce China to the US and gain more public attention.

Global Times