On June 15, 2019, the 14th JLU International Cultural Festival, themed “show campus life, share multi-culture”, came to a happy close on the Mayflower Square of JLU Central Campus. This festival was prepared by over 1,000 international students from 42 countries and it attracted over 5,000 teachers and students from JLU.
The biggest difference of the festival from previous events was that this year Chinese culture was emphasized to show our cultural confidence. Beside students from all over the world, Chinese students also participated in the show, who were from JLU Chinese culture societies, such as Martial Art Association, Peking Opera Society, Flute and Vertical Flute Association, Lanting Calligraphy Society, Chess and Cards Association, Bailu Han Chinese Costume Society, etc.
The opening ceremony officially began at 1:00 in the afternoon. Li Meihua, President of College of International Education, and Ou Shuo, vice director of Foreign Affair Office of Changchun Municipal Government, attended the ceremony and addressed the occasion. Vice Director Ou said that JLU International Festival, as a result of the internationalization of the campus, would provide a chance for local residents to know more about the world; therefore, it could boost the internationalization of the whole city. In her remark, President Li said this event would serve as a platform for the exchange of Chinese and foreign cultures. It would enrich multi-culture on campus, promote the fusion of different cultures. She hoped that the participants would fully avail themselves of this chance to know each other and experience each other’s culture.
The activities of the cultural festival fell into three parts – cultural show, performance and food sharing. Addressed in their respective national costumes, international students showed JLU teachers and students the natural scenery, history, culture and local customs of their own countries. The amazing singing and dancing performances by dashing young men and women students from Mongolia, Ukraine, Russia, India, Nigeria, etc. aroused ceaseless cheers and applause. The kungfu show and folk music from Martial Art Associate and Flute and Vertical Flute Association brought the atmosphere to the zenith.
Beside performance, international students also cooked by themselves their local food, which attracted throngs of visitors to their stands. Among the most welcomed food were Laotian coconut pudding and special meat salad, Indian milk porridge, yellow cake and kachori, Bangladeshi onion ball, Arabian chicken rice, etc. Except for food, visitors could also “travel” to different “country stands” with their “mini passports”. A Chinese student from College of Foreign Languages thus described her experience with the festival: Contrast to the cold weather, the warmth and passion can be felt by everyone at every corner. I’ve been to all the stands and tried all the delicious food. I also danced, cheered and took pictures with international students in their shining national attires. The heartfelt happiness goes beyond different languages and cultures and reaches everyone here.
2,500 mini passports were prepared and greatly appreciated by the teachers and students. An international student from Argentina said, “We’ve put 350 Argentine national flag stickers to the mini passports. And some more on the faces of our visitors. With this, we hope to try our best to promote our friendship and exchange in Jilin University.”
A Pakistani student commented, “The cultural festival is a very good activity. We can show the songs, dances, culture and custom from our country. This makes us very happy. I think it is very important to help people around you to know this big world. I thank JLU for holding this great event.” Dinh Van Anh, a Vietnamese student, said, “This is my third cultural festival. This is a good chance for us to show Vietnam to our international friends. I would thank JLU for the chance to show our culture.”
A Chinese student from Martial Art Association told about his excitement, “This is the first time for me to join the cultural festival. I can feel the warmth and friendship from students from all over the world. The unique cultures from different countries meet here in the event. As a member of Martial Art Association, I am very glad to show people traditional Chinese kungfu. Hopefully everyone can know more about and experience it. I’m very grateful for everything the hosts prepared for the event.”
It is believed that as a platform the cultural festival not only promotes the mutual understanding and cultural exchanges between teachers and students from home and abroad, but helps to spread Chinese traditional culture while knowing more about cultures around the globe.
