In the morning of June 16th, the 10th International Cultural Festival Fair, jointly hosted by College of International Education and Division of International Relations, had its grand opening on the northern square of the stadium. Over 300 international students from more than 50 countries in Asia, Europe, Africa and America attended the event. Several thousand students and teachers took part, which was more than before. Vice President Chen Gang and President Assistant Liu Debin participated in this fair and, together with many teachers and students, “toured many countries” and enjoyed this diverse cultural feast.
Over 50 country booths were set for this fair. The international students used meticulous decorations and made plenty preparations so as to give teachers and students an impressive display of their country’s customs and culture, ethnic costumes, traditional food, handicrafts and pictures of natural landscape. They gave an all-encompassing and detailed presentation of the exoticism of countries other than China. Many international students also cooked delicious food of their own country and shared it with students that visited their booths. Thus, participants tasted authentic food of many countries.
Exotic and dazzling booth decorations were not everything. International students from 14 countries including Argentina, Kyrgyzstan, Thailand and Vietnam performed traditional dances and played music instruments from their own country. International students from Japan and South Korea and so on taught Chinese students some everyday expressions in their mother tone and simple dance moves. People bustled about in the fair, making a lively scene. Thanks to the good interaction between Chinese and international students, the whole fair was cheerful.
The Chinese booth with big red lanterns hanging was very popular with students. Chinese students from the School of International and Public Affairs prepared for experience activities on the spot, such as pottery, traditional painting and calligraphy, tea making and paper cutting. Students of all countries could experience the unique charm of China’s traditional folk art at close range and deepen their understanding of China’s traditional culture.
In addition, student visitors could get mini-passports as souvenirs of this cultural festival. International students of the booths stamped the mini-passports with their own country’s special seals.
Currently Jilin University has nearly 2,000 international students from 102 countries. Both the number of countries displayed and the number of participants at this fair set the record in Jilin University.
