How fantastic the performances by Sino-Egypt youth students, playing erhu, pipa, guzheng, allegro, and Chinese martial arts were! On the afternoon of Sept. 21 we witnessed an impressive Sino-Egypt youth art gala, “Celebrating Mid-Autumn Festival,” which was held in the Global Village in Jilin Huaqiao University of Foreign Language (HQUFL). All the performers were youth students from HQUFL or Cairo University in Egypt.

Undergraduates in HQUFL introducing culture on
Mid-Autumn Festival in Chinese and Arabic

    “Ever since ancient times, Mid-Autumn Festival has been celebrated with various customs, including sacrificing to the moon, appreciating the moon, worshiping the moon, savoring the moon-cakes, and having Osmanthus wine, etc.” The gala began with students introducing the culture of Mid-Autumn Festival. Gao Shan, an international Chinese language education major, and Li Yanan, an Arabic major, introduced the culture of Mid-Autumn Festival in Chinese and Arabic respectively. “It was my first try and a big challenge for me. But it’s also a responsibility for us foreign language learners. I hoped my introduction will help Egyptian friends gain a better understanding of the essence of Chinese culture of Mid-Autumn Festival, and develop an appreciation for Chinese culture,” Li Yanan said.
The Egyptian faculty and students also tasted the delicious moon-cakes. Shasha (Chinese name), a student from Egypt, said, “Mid-Autumn Festival is a reunion day, which embodies good will and best wishes. It is a pleasure for me to celebrate the Chinese festival with a long history and enjoy tasty food.”

Undergraduate in HQFUL playing erhu solo, Horse Race

Undergraduate in HQFUL playing pipa solo, Dragon Boat

Undergraduate playing guzheng solo, Fisherman’s Night Song

   The next part was performances conducted by undergraduates in HQFUL, playing erhu, pipa, guzheng, and the piano. Wang Tianhao, chairman of the College Students Art Troupe and a bilingual major in English-Korean, said, “Although the gala includes performances playing Chinese and Western instruments, dances and songs, the focus is on the performance of Chinese folk music, expressing our deep love for Chinese culture, and strong desire for an integration of international diversified cultures.”

Undergraduates from Cairo University playing allegro

    Li Chenguang (Chinese name) and Liu Zhehan (Chinese name), two students from Cairo University, played allegro and won warm applause with their fluent Chinese and vivid performance.

Undergraduates from Cairo University peroforming Chinese martial arts

    Wang Mei (Chinese name) and Ma Yujie (Chinese name) offered a performance of Chinese martial arts together with some other Egyptian students. “We began to learn Chinese long ago, and it is very interesting to get acquainted with Chinese culture. We like Chinese culture very much, particularly Chinese Kungfu, and we want to learn from Chinese friends.”

Undergraduates from Cairo University singing a song, You and Me, in Chinese

     The China-Egypt Youth Art Gala was among a range of activities under the Foreign-aid Education Program, “Undergoing customs in Northeast China, and sharing friendship between China and Egypt.” This program is co-hosted by Jilin Provincial Education Department and HQUFL, and it’s the first one of its type ever throughout the country to be conducted in a private university.
    Egypt is a major country along the routes of the “Belt and Road.” On the “Belt and Road” Initiative, an increasingly closer bond has recently been forged in all sectors between China and Egypt, particularly in education.
   “We expect all the students to present their language learning achievements and improve themselves in a series of activities under the foreign-aid program,” said Wang Jie, Director of the International Exchange and Cooperation branch of HQUFL. “We also wish all the students would realize the advantages of learning Arabic so as to stimulate their interest and motivation, and each one would work harder to excel in Arabic so as to serve as a bridge and bond of friendly exchange and cooperation between China and Arabic-speaking nations.”
   As the only independent foreign language university in Jilin Province, HQUFL persists in its commitment to undertaking its responsibility to promote the “Belt and Road” Initiative and provide service for the development of local or regional economy and society. It tries to fulfill its commitment by cultivating highly-qualified applied, multi-faced and international talents, who have a clear national consciousness, a global mindset, and a good command of international law and rules, and who are well-rounded in “Knowledge, Ability and Personality.” To promote international schooling, the university has started multi-dimensional cooperation and exchanges with over 130 universities and colleges in 20 plus states and regions. It attaches tremendous value on the cooperation and communication with the nations along the “Belt and Road” and Arabic countries. Among all the 13 foreign language majors, the number of languages targeted on the “Belt and Road” is up to 6. The Arabic department in HQUFL is the exclusive major to simultaneously enroll undergraduates and postgraduates in Jilin Province. The major has been established for 4 years. Its student employment rate has already reached 97%. Most of HQUFL graduates who majored in Arabic work or pursue advanced studies in Arabic countries, such as Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia.