Some 700 children from 40 countries and regions gather with their Chinese peers for a grand celebration at the newly established China Soong Ching Ling Science and Culture Center for Young People on May 31, one day ahead of International Children's Day. [Photo by Chen Boyuan/China.org.cn]

Some 700 children from 40 countries and regions gathered with their Chinese peers for a grand celebration at the newly established China Soong Ching Ling Science and Culture Center for Young People on May 31, one day ahead of International Children's Day.

The celebration, themed "Dream of the Future Belt and Road Young Hearts," was organized by China Soong Ching Ling Foundation (CSCLF) in a bid to promote communication between young people from countries along the Belt and Road, a major consensus reached on the latest Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation.

Wang Jiarui, vice chairman of the 12th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and chairman of the CSCLF attended the ceremony along with foreign diplomats of Belt and Road countries and representatives from the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and ASEAN countries, among other regional organizations.

The celebratory activities featured "children's own festival" where Chinese and international children staged their own performances – such as Peking Opera excerpts, conducted a formation flight of multi-rotorcraft drones, and painted out their own expectations of the future.

Children from different countries exchanged gifts bearing their own national characteristics. They also wrote down their own "Silk Road Dream" on a prepared wishing wall.

Some of their casual wishes and ideas may turn out to be reality in the future, and this is the power of the dream as much as the Silk Road spirit, said Jing Dunquan, CSCLF's vice chairman.

He said that the international celebration for International Children's Day was an occasion for young people from different countries to enjoy the fun while knowing more about each other.

"In these activities, they obtain happiness and fulfilment; hence they will develop their interest and unleash their potential for their own dreams for the future," said Jing.

Salma Potts Vales is from Cuba. She was on the performance team for this celebration. She said that he liked China because she had lots of fun things to do. She particularly likes the good Wi-Fi connection in China so that she could "play games with friends."

"I wish that all kids are happy [on the Children's Day]. And if you are not good at math or others, just keep practicing," she said.

Tchiegeu Yvan is Cameroonian. Having a Cameroonian father and a Russian mother while attending an international school in Beijing, he can speak four languages: French, Russian, Chinese and English. He said it was not his first time to attend such international celebrations, as he was also in the performance team for the past Belt and Road Forum.

Chen Aimin, the chief of CSCLF's international communication said that serving young people's growth is one of the principal aims of the foundation. She said that such an international observation of Children's Day has been in place for many years, except that this year's was rather grander.