On a trip filled with children's laughter and curious questions, Chinese ethnic writer Gerelchimeg Blackcrane lately paid a cultural visit to Bavaria, Germany. By meeting local teenagers and cultural communities, the acclaimed nature writer built real‑world connections between China's grassland culture and German audiences, boosting people‑to‑people understanding among the younger generation.
On October 13, Blackcrane visited Gymnasium Seligenthal Landshut, a historic secondary school with a 188‑year heritage. He shared his creative experiences with over 100 Grades 11 and 12 students. German readers were captivated by the grand, untamed charm of China's northern grasslands depicted by the writer, and upon his invitation, many students began to dream of a graduation trip to China, especially the Hulunbuir Grasslands.
During the trip, Blackcrane also visited Munich's International Youth Library and donated copies of his publications, which will enrich the Chinese‑literature collection in this iconic institution founded by the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY) pioneer Jella Lepman and create more opportunities for German youth to access authentic Chinese stories.
In the Sinology Institute of Ludwig‑Maximilians‑Universität München, Blackcrane delivered a lecture on contemporary Chinese nature and children's literature for teachers and students, using both Chinese and Mongolian languages, which was warmly received.
Blackcrane, as one of China's most promising young writers, draws his inspirations from the sweeping vistas and rich ethnic traditions of the Hulunbuir Grassland in China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region. He has authored over 80 works, including Black Flame, Ghost Dog, The Reindeer Kingdom, Black Dog Hala Nohai, Children of the Wolf Valley, Snatching Wolf, and Mongolian Shepherd Dog: Bloodline of a King. Translated into more than 10 languages, his books have reached a global circulation of 10 million copies and won the Bianki International Nature Literature Prize, among others. Two of his representative titles, Black Flame and Moose of the Evenki, have been published in German, bringing stories of China's northern wilderness straight to German readers.
