SYDNEY, Sept. 29, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Personal travel memories, music, family stories and everyday cultural experiences have taken centre stage in the latest Meet Panda International Friendship Micro-Video Competition, recognising creators from Australia and the UK for sharing their own connections with China through short-form video.

More than 100 videos were submitted to the 2025–26 competition, culminating in a London awards ceremony in July that celebrated a diverse collection of stories spanning travel, music, family memories, language and everyday cultural life.

Among the Australian winners, traditional Chinese musician Dong Min received the Best Story Award for A Journey of Chinese-Western Cultural Exchange in Sydney, while Australian musician Ian Grace received the Best Editing Award for Australian Youth Music Team's Journey to China.

The stories come amid strong growth in inbound travel to China, supported in part by expanded visa-free access. Ordinary passport holders from 50 countries, including Australia, the UK, France, Germany, Canada and Switzerland, can currently visit China visa-free for stays of up to 30 days.

China recorded 35.17 million foreign visits in 2025, while visa-free foreign entries rose 49.5% to 30.08 million, according to China's National Bureau of Statistics. In the first half of 2026, foreign arrivals reached 22.91 million, up 20.4% year on year, with Australia among the top 10 source countries.

In the UK, creator Alex Randall, who lived in Hangzhou for 10 years, received both the Best Impact Award and Most Popular in China Award for a playful video showcasing the Chinese influences throughout his home.

The Best Collaboration Award went to the Confucius Institute at Ulster University in Northern Ireland, while 13-year-old Yunshu Ba received an Excellence Award for a video inspired by his family's travels and connection with China.

Jointly organised by People's Daily Online Australia and People's Daily Online UK, the latest competition builds on When Koala Meets Panda, first launched in Australia in 2017.

Over the past eight years, the competition has attracted close to 1,000 entries, with related content generating more than 100 million views.

As Meet Panda looks ahead to its next round, future participants are encouraged to experience China in their own way, capture the moments that stay with them — and keep the camera rolling.

A selection of award-winning and recognised entries from the latest competition can be viewed on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLxrLgypbClqJDrAPQ9CSq6qeCfP9DTJZs

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