Hangzhou — capital of East China's Zhejiang province and a city steeped in 5,000 years of Chinese civilization — is widely said to serve as a vital window to tell China's story to the world.

To help international students in Hangzhou deepen their understanding of the city, the Hangzhou International Communication Center or HZICC has launched the "Gen Z City Experience Officers" series of activities in 2025, featuring 10 diverse ones.

The organizers of the activities invited students to explore local enterprises, villages and cultural exchange hubs — enabling them to share Hangzhou's many development opportunities and strengths globally.

Three roundtable forums formed the core of the intellectual exchange. In February, the "Good Civilization: When East Meets West" forum held at the Xixi Campus of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba brought together over 100 entrepreneurs, scholars and philanthropists to discuss impactful donations and globalization, among other things.

At the event, Russian student Iushchenko Elizaveta at Hangzhou Normal University noted: "Enterprises, regardless of size, must balance profit with environmental and social responsibility — a lesson vividly illustrated here."

July's "Open Day" at Hangzhou International Communication Center gathered 100 students from 11 universities. "Hangzhou, a city that carries the genes of Chinese civilization for 5,000 years, has always been an important window for telling the story of China to the world and international communication is the key bridge for the world to understand Hangzhou and China," said Xiang Hui, deputy editor-in-chief of newspaper the Hangzhou Daily.

That was before students shared their creative ideas for international communications and highlighted their role as cultural connectors.

In addition, three immersive experiences blended culture and innovation. The May exhibition of the blockbuster video game Black Myth: Wukong, which is rich in Chinese tradition, sparked the admiration of Vietnamese student Ding Yinghang, who exclaimed: "This game is more than entertainment — it's a gateway to China's cultural soul, inspiring me to visit its scenic backdrops."

Two e-commerce workshops in mid-May trained students from 18 countries in AI-driven cross-border commerce, equipping them to promote Hangzhou's charm overseas.

Meanwhile, visits to leading enterprises like industrial conglomerate the Hailiang Group and electrical components manufacturer the Chint Group fostered dialogues on globalization. At Hailiang, Moroccan students discussed China's corporate expansion into Africa. Ghita, one of the students shared with sincerity: "China is my second home; sharing what I've learned here is my way of giving back."

From forums on sustainability to cultural explorations and tech training, the events are said to have turned the international students into storytellers.

They'll return to their homelands with tales of a city where ancient heritage and modern innovation thrive — establishing that Hangzhou is a veritable bridge between East and West.