On the evening of May 12, Guangzhou’s iconic Canton Tower in south China’s Guangdong Province lit up with lovely designs of Youyou, the festival mascot, a lively deer with a milky white body and ice-blue antlers—to celebrate the 2026 International Youth Poetry Festival (China-Arab States Session).
The 10-day festival runs from May 8 to 17 across Guangdong and Beijing. It brings together more than 100 young poets from China and the Arab world. Through poetry readings, academic dialogues, seminars, and cultural visits, participants engage in vibrant literary exchanges.
May 12 marks the final day of the festival’s Guangdong leg. Chinese and Arab poets visited Sun Yat-sen University and Guangdong University of Foreign Studies for campus poetry events, climbed Canton Tower to overlook Guangzhou’s beautiful cityscape.
They’re leaving Guangzhou for Beijing on May 13 to continue their activities, tours, and academic exchanges.
Text: Zeng Zhuorui (Intern), Li Muzi, Xie Maishi
Cameraman: Deng Yingheng, Nanfang Plus
Video editor/Design: Qin Shaolong