On Nov 19, the Zhejiang Assistance-to-Xinjiang Headquarters hosted a conference in Aksu to give a briefing on the proceedings of an adolescent exchange program that has been carried out since last June between Zhejiang province and Aksu prefecture in Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region.

According to the conference, some 104,000 students from 2,600 classes at 471 primary and middle schools across Zhejiang and Aksu have joined in the program. More than 74,000 teenagers from the two localities have built friendships through snail mail and videos. A total of 1,856 families have found matches they wish to remain in regular contact with.

A primary school student in Aksu receives a letter sent by her peer at Luxun Primary School in Shaoxing, Zhejiang province. [Photo/zjol.com.cn]

A Uygur girl from Aksu gifts a Han girl from Zhejiang a traditional Uygur hat during a cultural exchange activity. [Photo/zjol.com.cn]