Taiwan young people of the winter camp in the Ancient City of Pingyao on Feb 2. [Photo/chinanews.com]

Nearly 50 teachers and students from Taiwan came to the Ancient City of Pingyao on Feb 2 as a Taiwan youth winter camp opened in Shanxi province on Feb 1.

The group experienced an outdoor event themed around "benevolence, uprightness, courtesy, wisdom and honesty" and learned about woodcut making in the Ancient City of Pingyao, which has a history of nearly 3,000 years, furthering their understanding of Chinese traditional culture and the development of the Chinese mainland.

Taiwan young people take part in an outdoor event in the Ancient City of Pingyao on Feb 2. [Photo/chinanews.com]

"Many Taiwan young people who come to the Chinese mainland for the first time can better understand Chinese traditional culture through the outdoor event featuring team work and by taking quizzes about historical sites in Pingyao," said Tsai Ping-hsien, honorary director of the China Cross-Straits Exchange Promotion Association.

Chen Chia-I, a Taiwan student attending the winter camp group, said that although the outdoor event was tiring, group members learned a lot about the Chinese culture and were encouraged to persist in learning.

The winter camp was organized by the Federation of Taiwan Compatriots in Beijing, which has invited some 400 students from 59 Taiwan universities and colleges to visit the Chinese mainland in the past five years in the hope of advancing cross-straits communication and connecting Taiwan young people’s dreams with Chinese mainland's development.

After the camp concluded on Feb 7 the Taiwan young people also visited major historical sites in Shanxi province and well-known landmarks in Beijing.

Teachers and students of the Taiwan youth winter camp learn woodcut making in the Ancient City of Pingyao on Feb 2. [Photo/chinanews.com]