On the morning of July 29, 2015 China – Russia “Yangtze River and Volga River Drainage Basins” Youth Forum was inaugurated in the gymnasium of Wangjiang Campus, Sich -uanUniversity. This forum was attended by 161 youth representatives from the Federal District along the Volga River of Russia and 180 youth representatives and relative personnel from around the middle and upper reaches of the Yangtze River, China.“As an important strategic partner of each other, leaders of China and Russia have conducted close cooperation andreached several major agreements in recent years.” - said by WangNing, executive vice governor of Sichuan. He added that the forum would further facilitate cultural exchange and youth communication of both parties. Zhu Shihong, head of the Education Department of Sichuan hosted the opening ceremony. Yang Quanming, chairman of the SCU University Council made the welcoming speech, while Yan Shijing, vice president of SichuanUniversity and some other leaders attended the opening ceremony.Tretyak, deputy minister of the Ministry of Education and Science of Russian Federation also held the belief that the activity would be a new milestone of cultural and educational exchanges between both countries, and the youths attended the activity would become important ties maintaining friendly relationship between Russia and China in the future.

Prof. Yang Quanming, chairman of the SCU University Council, addressed the Opening Ceremony

Then, student representatives of both parties addressed the forum and held the flag-giving ceremony for 2015 China – Russia “Yangtze River and Volga River Drainage Basins” Youth Forum.The art performance following the opening ceremony drew bursts of warm applause from the youths of China and Russia.

The forum, with the theme of “friend-ship and youthfulness”, is sponsored by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and organized by the Education Department and the Department of Foreign and Overseas Chinese Affairs, Sichuan Provincial People’s Government. It is one of the mating activities of the 4^thsymposium of the leaders from the regions along the middle and upper reaches of the Yangtze River and the Federal District along the Volga River.

The entire forum lasted for 12 days, during which Chinese and Russian youths divided into 7 groups participated in interesting and local featured activities organized by 7 universities in Sichuan.

These diversified activities include experiencing campus life of Sichuan students in universities, attending classes, going to research laboratories, taking part in lectures and experiments of some characteristic disciplines and superior domains of the

Sichuan-based universities, experiencing ethnic culture, stimulating high-speed train driving, weather forecast preparation as well as studying Sichuan cuisine cooking and manipulation, which facilitated our Russian friends fully experience local conditions and customs of Sichuan. During this period, “Russian Day”, roundtable forum and academic lecture and some other activities were also held.