QUANZHOU, China — May 22, 2026. More than sixty Filipino-Chinese teenagers completed a five-day cross-border e-commerce and heritage camp at Quanzhou Vocational College of Light Industry, the school said. The closing ceremony ended with the students singing “Descendants of the Dragon”; over the prior days they had learned how to open shops on Lazada and Shopee — and how to make a Minnan (southern Fujian) shao rou zong, a savory pork rice dumpling.
According to The Fujian Overseas Chinese Newspaper, the program was the 2026 edition of the “Chinese Kinship — China Roots-Seeking Journey” summer camp for five sister schools in the Philippines, held at the college from May 18 to 22.
At the college’s Digital-Intelligent E-Commerce and Logistics Industry Base, instructors walked the students through cross-border platform operations on Lazada and Shopee, short-video production for TikTok, and AI-driven digital marketing. Southeast Asia is the home market for those platforms, the school said.
Many of the campers come from family-business backgrounds, according to the newspaper. “I picked things up at home, but I never had hands-on experience,” one camper said. Several said they planned to take the skills back to the Philippines to help sell Chinese goods and run small cross-border ventures linking the two countries.
In the college’s Chinese-cuisine training kitchen, the teenagers made shao rou zong, beef geng (a thickened beef broth) and Quanzhou-style vinegar-marinated fried pork. For young people raised in the Philippines, the school said, it was their first close encounter with the everyday flavors of their grandparents’ hometown.
Social activities filled the rest of the schedule: a lawn music festival, a basketball friendly, and the closing-day choir.
Quanzhou Vocational College of Light Industry frames the camp as part of its strategy of “vocational education going global, industry-education integration going abroad,” extending vocational training to overseas Chinese youth.
The school said the program is intended both to let participants reconnect with their ancestral hometown and to give them a practical skill they could one day apply to trade between China and the Philippines.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where and when was the 2026 “Chinese Kinship · Roots-Seeking Journey to China” summer camp for the Philippines’ five sister schools held?
The camp ran from May 18 to 22, 2026, at Quanzhou Vocational College of Light Industry. The five-day program brought together more than sixty Filipino-Chinese teenagers.
What cross-border e-commerce skills did the Filipino-Chinese youth learn?
Participants took hands-on classes at the college’s Digital-Intelligent E-Commerce and Logistics Industry Base, covering store operations on Lazada and Shopee, short-video production for TikTok, and AI-driven digital marketing. The skills were matched to demand in Southeast Asia’s e-commerce market, and campers said they hoped to take them back to the Philippines to promote Chinese goods and build China–Philippines trade.
Beyond e-commerce classes, what cultural activities did the camp include?
In the cultural sessions, campers visited the college’s Chinese-cooking training kitchen to learn southern Fujian (Minnan) specialties, including savory pork rice dumplings (shaorou zong), beef broth, and vinegar-marinated fried pork. Other activities included a group performance of the song “Descendants of the Dragon,” a lawn music festival, and a friendly basketball match.
What is the “Chinese Kinship · Roots-Seeking Journey to China”?
It is a study-and-exchange program for young people of Chinese descent living overseas, designed to help them trace their roots and learn about Chinese culture. The 2026 Philippines five-sister-schools camp was held under this framework, combining cultural roots-seeking, skills training, and China–Philippines economic exchange.
Why did Quanzhou Vocational College of Light Industry host the camp, and what is its significance?
The college described it as part of its international approach of “vocational education going global, industry and education advancing together.” The school said it wanted both to let young overseas Chinese reconnect with the culture of their ancestral homeland and to teach them practical digital-commerce skills, so they could become young bridges linking Chinese and Philippine cultural exchange and economic cooperation.
Reporting adapted from The Fujian Overseas Chinese Newspaper and materials supplied by Quanzhou Vocational College of Light Industry. Original Chinese coverage: mazucn.com.
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