Pakistani student Waqas Khan visits Changzhou. [Photo provided to China Daily]

When Tajik college student Khusenov Farzinshoh looked out over Shanghai's skyline, he saw more than skyscrapers and river views; he saw a possible future.

A geology student at the China University of Petroleum, Farzinshoh arrived in the city with questions many foreign visitors wonder: Can I overcome the language and cultural barriers? How hard would it be to find a job? Could I eventually build a life here?

Rather than simply strolling along the Huangpu River, he visited a local community, attended an employment guidance class, and toured subsidized apartments in Putuo district offered to recent international graduates. In one apartment, he sat on a bed and pressed down on the mattress, testing whether it was soft or firm enough for him.

That moment is featured in the short-video series "SCO: Youth in Action", produced by China Media Group to mark the 25th anniversary of the founding of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.

The SCO is a permanent intergovernmental organization established in 2001 by six countries: China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. Later, Pakistan, Belarus, Iran, and India became member states.

In addition to the series, CMG, China's largest State-owned broadcaster, has cooperated with Kyrgyzstan's National Television and Radio Broadcasting Corporation to launch a two-episode documentary, Building a Shared Home, for the anniversary, with versions in Chinese and Russian. The documentary was broadcast in Kyrgyzstan in late October.

Bringing together young people from the SCO's 10 member states, SCO: Youth in Action takes participants to multiple Chinese cities — including Shanghai; Xi'an, Shaanxi province; Qingdao, Shandong province; Kashgar, Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region; and Changzhou, Jiangsu province — to explore topics ranging from technological innovation and cultural heritage to the everyday concerns that shape people's lives.

Anna Yuschenko, a Russian student, visits the China Dinosaur Land in Changzhou, Jiangsu province. [Photo provided to China Daily]

For Xue Hongxia, the two programs' producer, young people offer a direct way to tell these stories. As active participants in cross-cultural exchange, they can share what they see and hear as firsthand observers, allowing audiences to discover a place through their experiences rather than familiar tourist images.

These cities were selected for distinct reasons. Shanghai, the birthplace of the SCO, serves as a gateway for international exchange. Xi'an was chosen for its historic role as the starting point of the ancient Silk Road and its legacy of millennia-old civilization, says Xue, also a program producer at the Chinese Global Program Center of CMG.

China's high-tech development has also left a deep impression on these young visitors. In the episode set in the coastal city of Qingdao, Li Fengkai, a graduate student at Tongji University, and his schoolmate Ayazhan Zhalmagambet, from Kazakhstan, visit CRRC Qingdao Sifang, one of China's major high-speed train manufacturers.

For Zhalmagambet, the visit offers a firsthand look at how a high-speed train moves from blueprint to production. Riding a maglev train is another highlight. Its smooth, fast journey reminds her of flying and makes her hope similar technologies will reach her home country. "I hope one day, I can board a train built with Chinese technology and travel to even more distant places in my country," says Zhalmagambet.

In Changzhou, Pakistani student Waqas Khan was drawn to a local agricultural park that combines photovoltaic power generation with crab farming.

"The locals raise fish and crabs under photovoltaic panels. China's new energy technology is quite cool," he says.

Anna Yuschenko, a Russian student studying at Tsinghua University, visited the China Dinosaur Land in Changzhou, where she saw the Lufengosaurus fossil, China's first complete mounted dinosaur skeleton. It made her feel that ancient creatures once etched in memory had come to life.

For the producer, the filming process left the team with a strong impression that Chinese-style modernization's development achievements and opportunities continue to draw young people from SCO countries to seek knowledge and participate proactively.

"What moved me most during this shoot was that international students come to China not simply to 'take a look', but with a clear understanding that there are opportunities and a future here, and they are willing to stay after graduation. For them, studying in China is a choice that leads to a broader world," says Xue.