Students perform at the opening ceremony of the root-seeking winter camp in Nanjing, Jiangsu province, on Dec 22. [Photo/jsql.cn]

A group of 34 overseas Chinese teenagers gathered in Nanjing, Jiangsu province and started their root-seeking winter camp at the local Jinling Primary School on Dec 22. 

The students, who are from countries such as Australia, Indonesia, Brazil and Singapore, all have Chinese origins. 

"We arrived in Nanjing at around late 9pm. We got a warm reception from Jinling Primary School staff members, who picked us up to the hotel, nicely accommodated us and really warmed our hearts. It was so nice being back home," said leading teacher of the Indonesian team with honor and pride.

The teacher said over the past 10 years, he has been bringing Chinese children who lived in Indonesia back to China, encouraging them to gain first-hand understanding of China's development and strengthening their belongingness to Chinese culture. 

Jiang Xinlei, a student from Melbourne, Australia, said "I love traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and after graduating from an Australian high school, I want to sharpen my TCM skills at a Chinese university. My roots are in China". 

The root-seeking activity was designed to encourage Chinese youth around the world to learn and pass on Chinese culture.