In the golden autumn, the rice waves are fragrant, and it is the perfect time for harvest in the fields. On October 23, the eighth session of the "International Students in Ecological Shenzhen Series" was successfully held at Guangming Happy Farmland. Twenty-three international students from Shenzhen University, hailing from 22 countries, stepped into the golden rice paddies, listened to agricultural science popularization, and experienced traditional farming activities and folk culture projects. Amid the urban farmland, they gained an understanding of harvest culture and experienced the beauty of Shenzhen's ecology.

At the event, agricultural instructors gave popular science explanations to the international students, introducing the growth cycle and growth patterns of rice in southern Guangdong. From seed germination and seedling cultivation to regreening and tillering, and then to heading, grain filling, and mature harvesting, they broke down the complete growth process of rice step by step, helping everyone systematically understand the characteristics of rice cultivation in South China.

After the science learning session, the students picked up straw hats and freely painted their own unique designs, leaving their favorite colors and creativity on the hats. Wearing their hand-painted straw hats, they transformed into "little farmers" and walked into the ripe rice paddies to begin the rice harvesting experience. Under the guidance of the instructors, the international students learned to harvest rice and tried the most traditional threshing method—holding bundles of rice stalks and slamming them forcefully to separate the plump grains from the stalks. After threshing, everyone took turns operating an old-fashioned winnowing machine, using wind power to blow away impurities such as husks and broken straw, witnessing firsthand the entire process of rice going from stalks to clean grain and gaining a direct understanding of how hard-earned every grain of rice is.

In addition to the rice farming experience, a traditional folk activity of making ciba (glutinous rice cakes) was also set up at the venue. The students worked together to pound glutinous rice, experiencing the ingenuity and joy of this traditional folk custom. Fields, painted hats, labor, and laughter intertwined, as young people from different countries helped each other and shared their thoughts, creating a lively atmosphere. Many international students were getting up close to rice cultivation and traditional farming tools for the first time. Beyond the novelty, they also gained a genuine understanding of China's long agricultural civilization and the Lingnan rice cultivation culture.

As an urban ecological farmland space in Shenzhen, Guangming Happy Farmland integrates rice paddy landscapes, agricultural science popularization, and folk culture experiences, allowing international students in this cosmopolitan city to step out of the classroom and connect with traditional culture rooted in the land. This farming study activity was both a vivid hands-on lesson in labor and agricultural science and a cross-cultural exchange. The students all said they had gained a great deal and were very happy throughout the process. Through their labor, they experienced the truth that "every grain of rice is hard-earned," and they also saw that beyond its rapid development, Shenzhen retains the ecological backdrop of a poetic countryside.