International students from the Beijing Language and Culture University are busy preparing for the 2023 Competition for the Transmission and Promotion of the Beijing Central Axis, with three songs highlighting heritage sites along its length.

The annual competition, hosted by the Beijing Cultural Heritage Bureau and the Beijing Office for Conservation and Management of the Beijing Central Axis, includes five categories, one of which, the Artistic Central Axis category, calls for participants to present the heritage sites using different art forms.

Three groups of international students from 13 countries are participating with songs about the Wanning Bridge, the Temple of Heaven and Jingshan Park.

The students are taking an elective course offered by the university's Department of Art that teaches songs adapted from ancient Chinese poetry, and most are Chinese language majors.

"I think this song about Wanning Bridge is very beautiful. When I was learning the lyrics, I got to know about the bridge's history and architectural style. I feel that I'm very lucky to participate in this course and the competition, because they have allowed me to learn more about Chinese culture and history," says one of the students, Bach Tong Khanh Minh from Vietnam.

Each year, the Department of Art offers a range of elective courses, many of which are popular with international students, especially courses related to traditional Chinese music and instruments.

"Many of our students get to know Chinese folk music for the first time through these courses, and after they finish, they take their instruments home to introduce their friends to Chinese music," says Chen Xia, Party secretary of the Department of Art.

"Through art, they become international narrators of China's stories and practitioners of the exchange between China and their own cultures."