Entrusted by the Department of International Cooperation and Exchanges of the Ministry of Education, the China Education Association for International Exchange launched a nationwide call in 2024 to select the first group of Outstanding Courses for National Conditions Education for International Students in China and Social Practice Activity Bases for Chinese and Foreign Youth. Following NEFU’s application and recommendation from the Heilongjiang Provincial Department of Education, the Mao’er Mountain Teaching Area (Experimental Forest Farm, hereinafter referred to as the “Teaching Area”) of NEFU was successfully selected as one of the first 115 national Social Practice Activity Bases for Chinese and foreign youth. Additionally, the Mao’er Mountain Teaching Area was also chosen as a “Perceive China” Practice Base by the China Scholarship Council in 2024.

The Mao’er Mountain Teaching Area serves as NEFU’s base for teaching, scientific research, internships, practical training, and the promotion and application of research findings. It acts as an ecological safeguard for Harbin and is also the origin of NEFU’s “Human-Pulled Plow” spirit, which symbolizes hard work and perseverance. It has been successively approved as a Heilongjiang Province Extracurricular Activity and Quality Education Camp for Primary and Secondary School Students, a Ministry of Education Base for Basic Science Research and Education Talent Training, a National Base for Life Science and Technology Talent Training, a Higher Vocational Education Training Base, a National Forestry and Grassland Science Popularization Base, and a Farming-Reading Education Practice Base. Leveraging the Mao’er Mountain Teaching Area, NEFU has conducted a variety of ecological civilization education practice activities and exchange programs for both Chinese and international students, allowing international youth to experience and understand the achievements of environmental civilization development in Heilongjiang Province firsthand.

This successful selection is a significant outcome in the implementation of the “Study at NEFU” brand development strategy. NEFU will fully utilize the role of the social practice activity base to promote the mutual integration and advancement of national conditions education and professional teaching. We will continuously enrich and expand the content and scope of national conditions education, providing diverse experiential courses on ecological civilization for Chinese and international students. This will serve as a crucial platform for disseminating the concept of ecological civilization, sharing China’s environmental civilization stories, and an effective means of cultivating international forestry talents who understand and are friendly towards China.