By He Huifeng
A Chinese school along the border with Russia has welcomed a large batch of young Russians, drawing widespread coverage while underscoring how people-to-people exchanges between the neighbouring countries have warmed to a historically high degree.
A total of 127 children from north of the border began classes on September 1 at Heihe Primary School, a public institution in Heilongjiang province, according to an article posted by the Chinese embassy in Russia to its official WeChat account.
The fresh enrollees joined 89 Russians already studying on campus, bringing the total to 216, according to the article.
It noted that blond-haired, blue-eyed Russian students could often be seen holding hands with their Chinese classmates.
“I used to worry that my daughter wouldn’t understand Chinese, but now she comes home every day teaching us how to say ‘thank you’ and ‘goodbye’ in Chinese,” a Russian mother from just across the border in Blagoveshchensk was quoted as saying. Her daughter’s daily cross-border commute takes about 20 minutes via a bridge.
To assist families like hers, the school has arranged a dedicated cross-border bus route and translation services, the article said.
The announcement came just four days before an easing of visa-entry rules for Russian nationals. Holders of ordinary Russian passports will be allowed to enter China visa-free for up to 30 days as part of a one-year trial programme.
In an earlier video report by Chinese media outlet Jimu News, Russian children at the school were shown wearing the same uniforms as their Chinese classmates while participating in morning exercises and following the standard curriculum – all taught in Chinese.
The school is located a short distance from the China-Russia border, and a school administrator was quoted as saying: “These Russian students are registered as international students, receiving basic primary education in Chinese.”
She added that Heihe Primary School was the city’s only institution authorised to admit Russian children.
Russian pupils have attended local schools in the past, according to the Jimu report, but a staff member with the education bureau of Aihui district, where the school is located, declined to provide additional information when contacted by the Post.
A “Safe Campus” column, under the state-run People’s Daily, said on September 3 that the Russian students’ arrival was a symbol of cross-cultural friendship.
“They entered the campus with curiosity and anticipation,” said the piece, posted to Safe Campus’ official WeChat account. “For a moment, their blond hair and blue-eyed, exotic faces made the elementary school look like that of an ‘international school’.”
It added that such initiatives deepen ties between young Chinese and Russians while laying a foundation for future cooperation in economics, culture and technology.
The process of learning Chinese is also a means of understanding China’s history, traditions and values for the Russian students, it said.
It suggested that more similar exchanges would take place, positioning Heihe Primary School’s experience as a model for international educational exchanges. Due to its proximity to Russia, Heihe has long been a hub of cross-border interactions. For many Russians, it is the closest retail haven for shopping. Early each day, scores of Russians reportedly take the first ferry to the Heihe morning market.
News of the growing number of Russians studying at the primary school sparked lively discussions on social media.
“This is quite interesting,” one Weibo user commented. “I heard we have visa-free access for Russians, and now elementary school students are coming to study. It seems like this diplomatic move was quite swift.”
South China Morning Post
