What makes a city worth loving? For the young people living in Shanghai, the answer lies in the rhythm of daily life, at the crossroads of history and the future, and within their clear, inquisitive eyes. Recently, the 2025 sixth season of the My Favorite Shanghai Short Video Showcase successfully concluded. Students from SHSID Hongkou Campus used their cameras as pens and their vision as paper, composing sincere and vibrant love letters to their city. Through their work, they demonstrated not only their deep roots in Chinese culture but also their commitment and skill in telling China's story well.

On November 23rd, the award ceremony for the sixth season of the "My Favorite Shanghai · I Am a City Ambassador" Youth Foreign-Language Short Video Showcase was grandly held. Jointly produced by the Shanghai Municipal Cyberspace Administration, the Shanghai Municipal Information Office, the Shanghai Municipal Culture and Tourism Bureau, and Shanghai Media Group, organized by SMG International Communication Center, and co-planned by the Shanghai Local Records Office, the activity invited youth aged 6-17 to act as "City Ambassadors." From three angles— city life, traditional culture, and Chinese cuisine— they shared the vibrant Shanghai and lovely China with the world.

In this highly competitive season, SHSID Hongkou Campus delivered an outstanding performance. From over 20 actively submitted works, five student videos stood out and won professional awards. These works not only offered unique perspectives and refined production but also conveyed profound cultural identity and cross-cultural communication skills through fluent and confident foreign-language narration. Additionally, four students received the "Rising Star Award," and the Hongkou Campus was honored with the "Best Partner" achieving outstanding results in both competition performance and organizational effort.

The seeds for this fruitful harvest were planted early in the summer. In June, the campus actively responded with a full mobilization campaign. On June 19th, they specially invited the "My Favorite Shanghai" promotion team to the campus for a fun cultural sharing session themed "Traditional Old Shanghai Snacks." This lecture not only gave the children a deeper understanding of local Shanghainese food culture but also officially launched their creative journey, infusing their video projects with rich inspiration.

For the students, participating in "My Favorite Shanghai" was more than just a competition; it was a project-based learning experience integrating inquiry and practice. Through creation, the students honed their creativity and media literacy; through expression, they enhanced their cross-cultural communication skills; and through deep observation and storytelling about the city, they strengthened their sense of mission as narrators of China's stories.

Now, let's step into these five award-winning works, and through their unique visual language, we can comprehend and grasp "My Favorite Shanghai."

Best Language Performance Award: 2-1 Jacquelyn My Shanghai Day: From Sunlight to Sparkles

"My video shows Shanghai from day to night! In the afternoon, there's the Yangpu Bridge across the river— its red body looks so eye-catching. Then at dusk, I walked from Nanjing Road to the Bund and saw the super spectacular Lujiazui. And finally, there's the street singer uncle's super nice singing! Dad gave me this idea— he said filming along the 'day to night' timeline would be fun. I think Shanghai's night lights are like little stars waking up, so pretty that I wanted to show all these nice things to everyone. When making the video, I learned tons of new skills! Like using a lavalier microphone— my voice sounds super clear with it. I also learned to fly a drone with Dad to film the bridge and boats— so cool! When dubbing later, I even added some fun stuff I thought of. I think it's really important to share my view of Shanghai. Cause Shanghai's nights are like a fairyland, and its days are full of energy. Everyone who watches it will definitely like it too, and want to come see these shiny places!"

Best Presenter Award: 3-1 Sean Food Map: Temples’ Food Recommend

"The main purpose of this video is to tell you about the delicious food hidden in Shanghai's traditional temples, such as vegetarian noodles, vegetarian coffee and vegetarian mooncakes. The inspiration for choosing this theme comes from my love for the vegetarian mooncakes from temples— they're something you can't taste anywhere else. I want to use this short video to introduce these temple snacks, which carry the traditional characteristics of Shanghai and China, to travelers from all over the world. I also learned many new skills while making this video. I wrote the script and selected shooting locations with my mom, filmed a lot of short clips, found suitable music, and then did the voice-over and editing. I also picked up a lot of new knowledge about video editing. I think it's extremely important to present traditional Chinese culture to friends from foreign countries from a very fashionable and innovative perspective— through the eyes of us post-2010 primary school students."

Best Production Award: 2-1 Jaden Zero-Cost Disney Adventure

"As a Disneyland super-fan , my video focuses on 'Exploring Shanghai Disneyland for Free,' I share super cool free tips! So happy! Lots of annual pass friends watched it. They said they never knew these tips! Maybe we'll have a sequel next year! I wanna show you my Shanghai! If you've never been— feel its charm! Grow to love Shanghai!"

Netizen's Choice Award: 2-1 Max My Favorite Shanghai

"My video's theme is 'the blend of old and new, in the name of love!' I picked two super cool places: Zhangyuan and Yufo Temple to show this. I was inspired by some little moments. Once when I walked in Zhangyuan, I saw an old Shikumen door next to a Zootopia pop-up. It's so fun right?! I also heard Yufo Temple has an 'Orange Cat Zen Garden' where the old temple takes care of stray cats. These little moments made me think: most people only know Shanghai as a big modern city, but it's more than that. It doesn't just keep old stuff or add new things— it mixes them together, and love is what holds them tight: love for old stories, love for new fun, and even love for tiny stray cats. I really want to share my Shanghai with others because I hope everyone can see how special it is— old and new meet here, and it's always full of kindness!

“My Favorite City” Best VLOG Award: 3-2 Evelyn Sayram lake: The last drop of Atlantic

"My video is about one of the best views in Xinjiang, the stunning Sayram Lake. My friend and I traveled there this summer, and I was inspired by its breathtaking natural beauty; it's truly deserving of its description, 'the last tear of the Atlantic.' I came up with the idea because I wanted to share the feeling of the vast and magnificent landscape. The part I enjoyed the most was simply being there, filming the lake's mesmerizing, multi-colored waters. The challenging part was during editing, as we had to condense so many amazing scenes into a short video, which meant our script had to be very concise to showcase the lake's changing beauty.  I really hope everyone can come see this beautiful place some day."

Congratulations also to the students who received the "Rising Star Award": 3-1 Esme, 3-2 Cooper, 2-1 Baobao, 2-1 Evelyn. Their works were equally brilliant, showing great potential.

Each short film is a love letter to Shanghai; each creation is a profound journey of growth. Through this activity, the children of Hongkou Campus truly embodied the role of "City Ambassadors." They shared Shanghai's unique urban charm with the world, fostered cultural exchange between China and other countries, and demonstrated the implementation of the school's educational philosophy of "cherishing Chinese culture and telling China's story well."

More importantly, a seed named "love" has been deeply planted in their hearts. Through exploration, recording, and expression, they have cultivated their own "Shanghai Spirit"— an open-mindedness that embraces diversity, a creativity that pursues excellence, and an urban sentiment that warms the heart. This experience will become a valuable treasure on their journey of growth.

We look forward to seeing more students pick up their cameras in the future, using their unique perspectives to discover beauty, document times, and tell the world more moving stories about why they love Shanghai.

(Written by Nina Kang

Pictures by SMG My Favorite Shanghai, Elaine Zhu

Reviewed by Ms. Zhu Dan, Shiyu Wu, Louie Parker)