The 13th Shanghai Universities Foreign Students Dragon Boat Race and the first Yangtze River Delta Universities Foreign Students Dragon Boat Invitational were held on June 10th. SUFE international student dragon boat team joined over a thousand international students from 32 universities in the Yangtze River Delta in the race, including Fudan University, Shanghai JiaoTong University, and East China University of Science and Technology. Together, they paddled through the waves to experience the charm of Chinese traditional culture.
Our international students have been active players in the race ever since its conception in 2008. The university places great importance on this year's competition with great efforts spent on preparation and publicity. As a result, more than 20 international students participated this year. They are from over 10 countries including Malaysia, Tajikistan, South Africa, Mongolia and Vietnam.
It was a first-time experience for many of the participants. Therefore, faculty from the university's physical education department and coaches from East China University of Science and Technology were invited to train the international dragon boat team. Under the guidance of the coaches, the participants started with paddle holding postures and then moved onto perfecting their postures and coordination skills. They trained together with strength training and on-water practice. Additionally, the school also shared the cultural stories related to the dragon boat festival for a better understanding of the Chinese traditional culture.
Lee Jin Xian, 2019 undergraduate in Finance from Malaysia, said, "Dragon boat racing has a long history and tradition among Chinese in Malaysia, and dragon boat races are also held every year during the Dragon Boat Festival in Malaysia. Throughout my time here, I have been longing to participate in a dragon boat race, and finally my dream has come true just before graduation. The race preparation has given me a deeper understanding of the Dragon Boat Festival and this traditional Chinese festival. I hope I can participate again during my postgraduate studies."
With an increasing number of international students, cultural activities for international students in China are becoming more diverse. Our university has always placed great emphasis on the cultural studies and extra-curricular activities of international students. We offer a variety of elective courses on Chinese culture, and also a series of physical and social activities. This allows the international students to experience Chinese traditional culture first hand and also helps them adapt to local customs and truly integrate into Chinese society, leaving them with beautiful memories of SUFE.
From | SUFE-ICES
