Max and his Belarusian friend Kate took pictures on the beach in Sanya (Photo by Xing Su)

On May 2, the final award winner of the "When Koala Meets Panda 2018" China-Australia Short Video Contest, Max Silk, finished a week-long tour in China's Hainan province.

The contest, held annually since 2017, is hosted by the Consulate General of the People's Republic of China in Brisbane and organized by People's Daily Online Australia. With more than 100 participants taking part each year, the contest helps to promote exchange, understanding, and friendship between young people in China and Australia.

Max and his Belarusian friends Kate took pictures in front of the boulders in the World’s End (Photo by Fangfang Jiang)

With more than 1 million views in just 24 hours, Australian boy Max won first prize, a trip to Hainan Island in China.

During the week-long trip, Max had the opportunity to explore and experience many places such as Movie Town in Haikou, Sanya Beach, Temple of Confucius in Wenchang, World's End, Areca Valley Li Miao cultural tourism area and so on.

"Hainan province is a beautiful international tourist island. Although I have visited many cities in China, the first visit to Hainan province is fresh and new to me," he said, "The beautiful natural scenery, the long Chinese history, the unique folk culture, and the deep Sino-Australian friendship left an unforgettable impression."

Max and his Belarusian friends Kate experienced the culture of Miao Li (Photo by Xing Su)

What made this trip even more special was the visit to the Gull Force Memorial, where Max presented flowers to two dead soldiers of the Australian Gull Force. The monument lies in a cemetery in Laoou Village, Hainan province, where two old Australian soldiers died. During the Second World War, they escaped from Japanese war camps and with the help of local Chinese villagers, fled the brutal abuse of the Japanese army, but finally passed away because of malaria. In 2003, the Chinese and Australian governments built the Gull Force Memorial to become an eternal memory of this precious piece of history.

"I think Hainan is China's Hawaii, it's beautiful here," Max said. "I want to show China to the world with more short videos and encourage more young Australians to experience Chinese culture as I have." 

Max held flowers and took pictures with the Gull Force Memorial (Photo by Xing Su)