On the afternoon of April 23rd, the 20th International Cultural Festival and International Food Carnival of SUFE were held on the Lvye Pedestrian Street of the Guoding Road Campus. The festival continues with the concept of 'Our differences make us unique, our similarities make us one', and with the theme of 'To share, to be together', aiming to showcase the excellent cultures of various countries through a variety of activities and to display the integration and joint progress of Chinese and foreign students.
Leaders of SUFE, Xu Tao, Liu Yuanchun, Chen Xinyuan, Yao Lingzhen, Li Zengquan, Liu Qingsheng, Chu Hua, and the heads of functional departments and party and government leaders of faculties (departments, institutes) and teachers and students attended the event.
At the opening ceremony, Chang Haoxiang, the executive chairman of the Law School Student Union (China), and Chen Heyuan, the chairman of the International Student Federation (Malaysia), spoke as representatives of Chinese and foreign students, introducing the overall situation of this International Culture Festival. Four Chinese and foreign students brought the original theme song of the International Culture Festival Together Across the Seas, conveying the concept of a community with a shared future for mankind in their song.
As a window of a harmonious international campus and a platform for showcasing world culture, the International Culture Festival has always been committed to showcasing the excellent cultures of various parts of the world. We prepared Norwegian traditional games Hallingkast, Norwegian waffles, and deliberately wore traditional costumes that are only worn during the Norwegian National Day, said the Norwegian student Beichen.
The Pakistani student Zhigang was very happy to be able to showcase their culture on campus, Our booth prepared stewed rice and Rooh Afza drinks for students, and shared their cooking methods with everyone. We hope that students can understand Pakistani eating habits and culture more deeply while enjoying the food. In addition, we also let students participate in the traditional Pakistani game Ludo, and the simple game quickly brought students closer, I think this is the best interpretation of cultural exchange.
At the same time, the 2024 Tallinn Day event was also held at the Food Carnival site. At the event site, students learned about the cultural landscape of Estonia through Q&A games, and received exquisite postcards, rich chocolate, traditional pastries and other small gifts, feeling the strong exotic customs.
More than ten years after the Belt and Road initiative was proposed, the proportion of international students from countries along the route is getting higher and higher. It is worth mentioning that among the 24 booths responsible for the Food Carnival, 21 are from countries along the Belt and Road. In the preparation process of this Food Festival, we carefully selected ingredients, striving to show everyone the essence of the traditional Kazakh beef pie samsa. In addition, we also let students immerse themselves in the culture of Kazakhstan through games like Asyk. We are very happy to hold such a cultural display activity in our school campus, and show our country's customs and traditional culture to Chinese friends. This is also a part of the 'Belt and Road' initiative, we hope to deepen the friendship and cooperation between Chinese and Kazakh students through such activities, said the Kazakh student Ailu.
“We prepared Malaysian specialty Nyonya cakes and traditional game Congkak for the booth. Participating in this Food Carnival, we deeply felt the charm of cultural exchange, we hope to let Chinese friends understand more about Malaysian food and game culture through such cultural display activities, and promote the exchange and integration between Chinese and Malaysian students. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Malaysia, we hope to take this opportunity to deepen the friendly relations between China and Malaysia. In the future, we will also continue to participate in more such cultural exchange activities, and contribute to the implementation of the 'Belt and Road' initiative, said the Malaysian student Chen Zili.
This year marks the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China. While showcasing the excellent cultures of the world, the school has always paid attention to telling good Chinese stories to international students. The Food Carnival site specially set up a Chinese food and cultural experience area co-hosted by the International Cultural Exchange College Graduate Student Union, Law School Student Union, and International Education College Student Union. In addition to traditional Chinese foods such as Qingtuan, flower cakes, and Cantonese cold noodles, it also includes Chinese traditional culture displays such as calligraphy and Hanfu. Li Jiao, a master's student at the International Cultural Exchange College, said, This event has allowed us to feel the rich and colorful world of food, and we are also very honored to share China's traditional food and culture with everyone. We prepared some Chinese characteristic pastries, such as Qingtuan and Osmanthus cake, and also designed calligraphy, tongue twister games and other activities. Through these activities, we hope to show everyone China's food while also telling the rich and profound story of Chinese culture, and let more international friends understand and appreciate the unique charm of Chinese culture.
In order to strengthen the labor education of Chinese and foreign students, the Food Carnival booth was built by Chinese and foreign students together for the first time this year, further deepening exchanges and promoting integration through activities, vividly interpreting the concept of a harmonious international campus. From the clumsiness at the beginning to the skillfulness later, from the silence at first to the tacit understanding afterwards, under the same goal, we watered the flower of international friendship with sweat, tacit understanding, and laughter, said Chen Jie, the person in charge of the Food Carnival from Malaysia.
