International exchange course "Sustainable Agriculture in Yunnan Province, China" concludes (1-10 March 2015)

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The international exchange course, "Sustainable Agriculture in Yunnan Province, China", took place from 1 to 10 March 2015, with six undergraduate students in their first and third year at Kyoto University participating in the on-site program in Kunming-city, Yunnan province. The program was led and directed by Professor Tatsuya Inamori and Hiroyuki Hirooka of the Graduate School of Agriculture, with the cooperation of the Kunming University of Science and Technology (KUST).

Participating students toured numerous sites to study agriculture in urbanized areas, irrigation systems, urban life, and other topics, and also listened to lectures on the history of tea culture, calligraphy and incense burning, and ethnic minority cultures.

The students also conducted a comparative analysis of water quality between rivers in farming villages and urban areas in China, and also samples from Lake Biwa in Shiga Prefecture, Japan, which they had brought with them. Further, they participated in a dumpling cooking exchange with students from China and South Korea, and experienced the Chinese New Year custom of eating glutinous rice balls to mark the end of the festival.

The students then presented compilations of their findings and experiences at a final workshop, and received completion certificates from KUST.

Presentation of gifts at the opening ceremony

Commemorative signing at the KUST geoscience museum

Studying Chinese tea and tea ceremony history

Calligraphy history and incense burning

Taking samples to analyze water quality

Learning about irrigation and land use at Dadieshui Waterfall

Presentations and discussion at the final workshop

During the exchange program