On December 18th, 2013, the 2014 Jilin University International Students New Year Gala was held in the International Lecture Hall. President Li Yuanyuan was present and, on behalf of Secretary of CPC Jilin University Committee Chen Dewen and all faculties and students, expressed festive greetings to all the international students and embraced the arrival of the new year together with the international students. The gala was also attended by leaders from President’s Office, Publicity Office of the Party Committee, the Graduate School, Division of Undergraduate Education, Youth League Committee, Division of International Relations and College of International Education and School of International and Public Affairs.
The gala kicked off with a short video. It showed lively scenes and demonstrated all the aspects of international students’ daily life in Jilin University. Russian students performed the spirited opening dance “Grasslands in Summer” that enlivened the atmosphere. After this, students from various countries sang a medley of beautiful Chinese and foreign songs. A vivid imitation “Chaplin” and a comic performance “Happy Birthday” made the audience laugh and even savor them afterwards. The Vietnamese dance “Lighting Lanterns”, Nepalese dance “My Hometown”, Thai dance “Beating Drums” and Ukrainian dance “A Plum Flower” seemed to take the audience to the exotic foreign lands. Thai students performed “Jasmine”, playing the guzheng and erhu, two traditional Chinese stringed instruments; Argentine students gave a performance “Appeal of Bamboo” combining music, poem and painting. These two performances showed international students’ understanding and love of China’s traditional culture and folk music. The catwalk show “Blossoming Years” became a big highlight of the gala: ten international students wearing different qipao (Mandarin gowns) walked gracefully against Chinese music, earning applause and cheers from the audience. Then the audience watched Japanese street dance “Desperate Fight of Elves”, South Korean modern dance “Gentlemen of Gangnam” and Pakistan hip-hop, and felt drawn away from the nostalgic atmosphere of the qipao performance and back to the modern world while dancing to the music in vogue. “Venus”, a rock&roll song performed by students from different countries, and the choral singing of students from North Korea were exciting and animating, a feast for the eyes and ears. Then all the international students sang “The Grand China” and the audience joined them as well. Every one was happy.
In this happy atmosphere, President Li Yuanyuan went onto the stage and sang a Canadian folk song “Red River Valley” and a Russian song “Moscow’s Nights”, winning thunderous applause and cheers from the international students and leading the gala to a climax. At last, the gala ended on a satisfactory note with President Li Yuanyuan’s singing of “Ode to the Motherland”.
