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Last week, four students who won a social media contest in China enjoyed their grand prize-a tour of New York State, with stops across the Capital Region. 

In 2015, I Love NY China cooperated with qyer.com, one of China's largest user-generated-content platforms to launch "Youth Plan × Discover NYS," a campaign designed to promote study tours in NYS, by leveraging the growing online marketing channels. The contest quickly took off, reaching millions of students who were in the process of making plans for study abroad. Lets meet the winners:

Ms. Fan Jingyi

Journalism & Commication, Post Graduate

Communication University of China

Fan Jingyi is an avid traveler and intern for Caixin Media, a large media group in China. While speaking with Fan she expressed a love for art. "Art is in the air" she stated while discussing the beauty that surrounded her in Capital Region. Her favorite part of her visit was touring the RPI campus and strolling through downtown Troy.

Mr. Wu Kaisi 

Intellectual Property, Senior

Law School of South China University of Technology

Wu Kaisi is a backpacker and photographer with a passion for thrift shopping and cheeseburgers. Yes, you read that correctly, cheeseburgers! When asking the group what their favorite thing about Albany was, Wu exclaimed "CHEESEBURGERS!" But honestly, who doesn't love a delicious, juicy cheeseburger from the Recovery Grill?

Ms. Zhao Mengying

Journalism, Junior

Beijing Technology and Business University

Zhao Mengying is an award winning travel writer and journalist. This was Zhao's first time traveling to the United States and she was blown away by the natural life that surrounded her in Albany. Nature can be seen amidst the tall buildings in downtown Albany which is very different from her life in China. She was suprised by how friendly citizens of the Capital Region were and loved her visit so much she could not pick a single moment she enjoyed more than the next.

Mr. Wang Li 

Radio and Telivision Director, Senior

Jiangxi Normal University

Lastly, we have Wang Li. Wang is a talented photographer and by far the quietest member of the group. Wang sat behind his camera capturing every inch of the Capitol Building and Empire State Plaza. The more I watched him the more I realized how easy it is to take for granted the beauty of New York's Capital.

Every day, I drive by the Capitol Building on my way to work. Not often do I stop to truly take in the stunning architectural work that went in to building such a magnificent structure. The Capital Region is filled with beauty and speaking with these four Chinese students truly attests to that. Our friendly citizens, beautiful parks, buildings and even our cheeseburgers are something to be proud of. The next time you get a chance to step away from your desk, office, apartment, look a little deeper into the beauty that surrounds you in Albany County. Trust me, it's worth it.