On October 12th, the 12th International Culture Festival of Shandong University was successfully held by the Campus Cultural Construction Office and the College of International Education at Shandong University. More than 700 people enjoyed a wonderful get-together, including Fang Hongjian, the Deputy Secretary of the CPC Committee of SDU, ZhaoYi, the Secretary of Communist Youth League of Jinan, foreign teachers, Chinese students and overseas students.

As the main activity of international cultural exchanges and cooperation of the 111th anniversary celebration of SDU, the festival aimed to help all the overseas students enjoy their life at SDU, arouse their passion for learning Chinese, and show different culture at the same time. The festival consisted of a Chinese culture exhibition, a barbecue buffet and an evening party. The activities reflected traditional Chinese culture and the passion of culture exchange.

The 12th International Culture Festival opened at 2:00 p.m. with Chinese culture exhibition taking place first. Traditional Chinese culture was embodied through riddles, Chinese calligraphy, facial makeup from the Peking Opera, handicrafts, folk dough figurine and paper cutting, all of which fascinated the overseas students in attendance. Under the guidance of old folk artists, students experienced traditional Chinese culture by writing down their Chinese names with a Chinese brush or weaving beautiful Chinese knots. On Chinese Kung fu sites, volunteers vividly interpreted the essence of Chinese martial art and won rounds of praise for their efforts.

The Barbecue buffet started at 5:30 in the early evening. Overseas students created a warm and cheerful atmosphere. They chatted, discussed, and enjoyed their barbecue feast. In spite of different faith and language, they hold deep affection for Chinese culture and were like a big family. The College of International Education is their harmonious family.

When night was approaching, the evening party for the 111th anniversary celebration of SDU and for welcoming new students began. With neat movements, passionate performance and flowing rhythm, the drum show named “Light of Honor”, co-performed by performers from South Korea, Jordan, Guinean and China, raised the curtain of the evening party. The evening party consisted of three Chapters: Continental Friendship, Preference to China, and Word Unity. Around 100 foreign students from more than 30 countries gave their best performance to show us a real picture of Chinese and foreign culture from a wide range of perspectives.

In the chapter on “Continental Friendship”, local conditions of different continents were revealed through programs such as hot Mongolian danceing, holy church song “How Great Is Our World”, popular dance “Gangnam Style”, elegant violin and urheen ensemble “Rhapsody in Blue”, energetic hip-hop “Breaking”, among which the success of “Gangnam Style” was the talking point of the evening.

The melodious singing of “Reed flower” performed by our teacher Wang Qin marked the beginning of the 2nd Chapter of the evening show, the “Preference to China”. Overseas students interpreted Chinese martial art, while Chinese students performed Tibetan dance “Tanggula Style” dressed in the beautiful costumes, which showed the unique style of the dance. Furthermore, Congolese student Milelon sang a Chinese song “Fairy Tale” and the entire audience were intoxicated by his clear pronunciation and beautiful melodies. Fang Hongjian sang a song named “Applause sounded”, which pushed the evening party to another climax.

During the last Chapter “Word Unity”, overseas students brought their own singing and dancing to the stage. The audience was deeply moved by the music that mixed different styles, fascinating dance shows and beautiful exotic costumes. The last Chapter concluded with the chorus of “Love Each Other”, performed by both Chinese and overseas students. In the end, the 12th International Culture Festival of SDU closed its curtain successfully. This memorable night of great passion and continuous applause became an eternal moment in everyone’s heart.

The International Culture Festival of Shandong University has been successfully held 12 times since the year of 2001. It becomes a branding activity of the College of International Education and it acts as a platform for campus multicultural communication and is of great significance to fulfill the international strategy of Shandong University.

Responsible and related officials were present at the festival, including officials from the Shandong Provincial Education Department, Exit-Entry Administration Department of Jinan Public Security Bureau, Deans of College of International Education of different universities in Jinan, Li Pingsheng, Chief of Publicity Department of the CPC Committee of SDU, Ma Xiaolin, Secretary of Communist Youth League of SDU, Ning Jiming, Dean of College of International Education at SDU, Xu Guanzhong, Secretary of the Party Committee of College of International Education of SDU as well as responsible official of International Affairs Department of SDU.

Written by: Hu Nailin

Photo by: Ren Xiangrong

Edited by: Lawrence Phillips, Jing Zizhao

Source: College of International Education,www.view.sdu.edu.cn