Association of Sino-Russian Medical Universities: International Summer School “Dialogues of Cultures, August, 2025

The summer school "Dialogue of Cultures" really opened new opportunities for medical students from Russia and China. We were complete strangers before, but we became friends in the heart of Siberia - the Altai region.

 

Barnaul is a young city in the southeast of Western Siberia. It is the main city of the Altai region and will celebrate its 300th anniversary in 2030. It is a very cozy and welcoming city, mostly because of its friendly people. During the city tour, we learned about its history and visited the Mountain Pharmacy to see how people were treated during the time of the Russian Empire. We also went to the Barnaul Art Museum where we saw paintings by the most famous Altai artists. The Chinese students learned about traditional Russian games, including round dances, and even joined in.

 

The tour of the Altai State Medical University museum was very interesting. The museum is on the 4th and 5th floors of one of the university buildings. Many exhibits show the history of each faculty, the special features of Russian and Chinese traditional medicine, and how medicine worked during the Great Patriotic War (1941-1945) and the 1812 war.

 

The summer school taught us many things. Russian students learned Chinese calligraphy, and Chinese students learned Russian calligraphy. We also had joint activities: a chemistry workshop and tactical medicine training.

There were 13 Chinese students at the school: 5 from Southern Medical University (Guangzhou), 3 from Heilongjiang University of Chinese Medicine (Harbin), and 3 from Dalian Medical University.

Also there were 12 Russian students: 2 from Voronezh State Medical University by N.N. Burdenko, 2 from Samara Medical University "Reaviz", 2 from Chita State Medical Academy, 2 from Ivanovo State Medical University, and 3 from Russian National Research Medical University by N.I. Pirogov.

 

 

I first met other participants on the way to Barnaul. During a train stop in Novosibirsk, I met two girls from Samara. By chance, we even shared the same train compartment.

Since it wasn't my first time in Altai, I was especially interested in learning more about Barnaul's history. The Chinese students were also excited to learn about Russian and Siberian traditions, and we helped them. We became such good friends that the language barrier stopped being a problem.

 

All the students were kind and interesting. I was very happy to meet such wonderful people. We exchanged gifts: Russian students got Chinese tea, wooden plates with Chinese national symbols (made by the students themselves), and traditional red envelopes with good luck wishes.

 

We gave our Chinese friends condensed milk, Altai tea, and wooden figures with Russian national symbols, also handmade.

The school ended outside the city in the village of Bobrovka. We split into two mixed teams for sports competitions and then had dinner by a campfire.

Thanks to our Chinese friends and Yulia Vitalyevna Tseller, head of the International Department at ASMU, the summer school became truly unforgettable with its warm and almost home-like atmosphere. I am sure that in the future we will all become great professionals and colleagues.