From Turin to Changchun: A flame passed, cultures shared

When the last photo finally went through, I sank into a corner, like a tire losing air.

My smartphone's step counter showed I had just run five kilometers — in a suit and leather shoes, with a camera and tripod — repeatedly stopping, turning, and photographing the athletes carrying the flame behind me. The good photos were reward enough for the sweat.

It was Oct 8, 2026, in Turin, Italy — 99 days before the opening of the 33rd Winter World University Games in Changchun, capital of northeastern China's Jilin province. A delegation from Changchun had traveled 8,400 kilometers to collect the Universiade's symbolic Flame of Knowledge.

At the University of Turin, the flame was transferred from a ceremonial cauldron into a lantern bearing the Changchun 2027 emblem, followed with a procession through the city's streets.

The route chosen for the procession suggested that the Turin organizers had put considerable thought into welcoming their visitors: Starting at the University of Turin, it passed through the Egyptian Museum and the Albertina Academy of Fine Arts, before reaching Polytechnic University of Turin, or PoliTO.

The four stops alone offered a journey through different dimensions of Turin's cultural and intellectual heritage.

The 622-year-old University of Turin represents more than six centuries of higher education.

The Egyptian Museum is home to one of the world's most important collections of ancient Egyptian artifacts, including the Temple of Ellesiya, donated by Egypt in the 1960s.

The Albertina Academy of Fine Arts preserves more than 60 Renaissance-era preparatory drawings, known as cartoons, alongside a long tradition of artistic education.

Finally, PoliTO is one of Italy's leading technical universities, particularly renowned for automotive and aerospace engineering.

Even between these designated stops, the streets offered plenty to discover, from historic palaces and Renaissance frescoes to sculptures reflecting the city's artistic and scientific traditions. The organizers clearly wanted their visitors to experience the rich cultural atmosphere of Turin, a city renowned for its Baroque architecture and centuries of intellectual life.

At least from the perspective of someone who had just run five kilometers through it, I would say they succeeded.

Changchun showcase

While enjoying this carefully arranged cultural journey, the Chinese visitors should have been equally determined to offer their hosts a taste of Changchun's own traditions.

After all, transferring the flame from the cauldron into the lantern took only a few minutes. Yet the ceremony itself lasted more than an hour, with much of the remaining time devoted to cultural performances, brought about by artists travelling from Changchun.

Among them was Dance of the Auspicious Cranes, a performance drawing on the crane's traditional symbolism of good fortune and longevity, featuring the city of Changchun.

Another was Songs of the North: The Monkey King Defies the Snow, an original musical theater combining traditional Chinese instrumental music with Changchun's winter tourism culture. Two musicians played traditional instruments, including the erhu and pipa, evoking the vast snowy landscapes and lively winter atmosphere of northeastern China.

Then came Wang Qingfeng, a Changchun cultural tourism ambassador known for portraying the Monkey King. His playful performance added humor and energy to the traditional music, offering the Italian audience another glimpse of the distant city's cultural character.

The performers were apparently not satisfied with entertaining people inside the ceremony venue that they took their performances into the streets of Turin after the official program.

At public squares, including the one outside the Royal Palace, they staged impromptu performances and invited passing pedestrians to join them. At one point, officials, performers and curious passersby formed a circle of more than 20 people, holding hands, singing and dancing together.

Before long, the formal international sporting ceremony had somehow turned into a street party — and a lively one.

Three months before the 2027 Winter Universiade, Changchun, the host city, and Turin, the birthplace and guardian of the Universiade tradition, seemed to be in an artistic competition.

If there were an early gold to give, it would be a double—one for each city.

The experience reminded me that cultural exchange and sporting exchange have much more in common than we sometimes realize. A sporting competition is not only about athletes trying to outperform one another, but also about people collectively exploring the limits of human physical potential. Similarly, cultural exchange both involves different traditions learning from and inspiring one another, and can be considered as a shared exploration of humanity's capacity for artistic creation and appreciation.

While sport events celebrate strength, speed and endurance, cultural performances celebrate rhythm, imagination and beauty. Yet both ultimately seek something similar: to bring people closer together, allowing people to understand each other despite their differences in language, nationality, geography and history. If they are obstacles then both sport and cultural performance can overcome them.

On the sporting field, athletes may speak different languages but understand the same rules. On a public square in Turin, strangers who had never met could join hands and dance without needing much explanation.

In that sense, this journey — or perhaps I should simply call it a big party — provided a fitting opening to the cultural exchanges that will pass on. Next comes the sporting competition, when young athletes from around the world gather in Changchun to test their strength, skill and determination on ice and snow.

On Jan 15, 2027, Changchun will welcome the world.