The 17th Shanghai International Youth Interactive Friendship Camp kicked off on Friday in Shanghai, with nearly 70 campers from 11 countries including Australia, Bolivia, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Nepal, New Zealand, the US and China participating, further strengthening friendship and cultural exchanges among young people from around the world.

Friendship knows no boundaries, and programs like this camp "provide us with a unique opportunity" to connect with other young individuals from diverse cultures and backgrounds, said Huang Miaozhe on behalf of the Chinese campers at the opening ceremony on Friday.

With a theme of "Peace, friendship and future," the camp will last for 10 days. The camp was first held in 2005, and is sponsored by the Shanghai People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (SPAFFC) and Shanghai Youth Federation. More than 1,500 young people have participated in the camps so far.

At the opening ceremony, Fu Jihong, vice president of the SPAFFC announced the layout of the camp. The campers were divided into six groups, with each group holding a self-made flag with a creative drawing and design by themselves. They also experienced rope jumping and a drawing show that revealed their own countries' characteristics.

Loretta Grof and Rozi Jakab are from the Hungarian-Chinese bilingual school in Hungary. They told the Global Times on Friday they are interested in the different culture in Shanghai, and they have felt the warmth from Chinese people when arriving at the airport. "They say hello to us," they said.

In Shanghai, "the architecture is also very beautiful and we can see the contrast between modern buildings and old traditional buildings," Grof said. "It's very nice to see the cities and learn about Chinese history."

This is Jakab's second visit to China. She told the Global Times that it's amazing to see the modern tall buildings in Shanghai, adding that the people are very nice.

Their school is the only full-time school in Central and Eastern Europe that uses Chinese and the local language for instruction. Sofie David, another student from the school told the Global Times that they are happy to celebrate Chinese traditional festivals with their teachers and classmates.

Francesco Amati from San Marino told the Global Times that he wants to learn about Chinese culture.

During the 10-day journey, they will visit the iconic Shanghai Oriental Pearl Tower and see the development of modern Chinese society. They will also experience traditional Chinese intangible cultural heritage, and they will go to Jinzhai county in East China's Anhui Province to participate in local events such as tea picking.