Mainland camp lures youth from Taiwan

Young people from Taiwan participating in a winter camp on the Chinese mainland say their visits to historical and cultural sites have enhanced their national confidence and provided insights into many aspects of history that have been downplayed in Taiwan.

Organized by the All-China Federation of Taiwan Compatriots, the activity has attracted about 1,000 young Taiwan people this year, the majority of whom are university students. More than half of them are visiting the mainland for the first time.

The winter camp spans 17 provincial regions and offers a diverse range of activities. Around 20 young people from Taiwan visited Datong and Taiyuan in Shanxi, a province known for its wealth of historical landmarks. The popularity of Shanxi's ancient architectural sites, which served as scene locations for the domestically produced game Black Myth: Wukong, has drawn a large number of tourists since last year.

"This is a well-made game about Chinese culture that is also popular in Vietnam. I often watch livestreams of this game," said Liao Chung-ming, a 24-year-old from Taiwan who is currently working in Vietnam.

He was visiting Shanxi with his Vietnamese girlfriend.

While visiting one of the scene locations, the Hanging Temple in Shanxi, Liao said he felt the game's depiction was beautiful and highly accurate.

His girlfriend, visiting China for the first time, specifically bought a cartoon pendant of Sun Wukong, as she learns that the monkey is a childhood idol for every Chinese boy. She plans to use it as a car decoration for her father.