Colorful autumn of 2017 brought University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) to our second annual Campus International Cultural Festival. International and Chinese students gathered at the center of East Campus of USTC to celebrate culture diversity on the first day of November. Students from 19 “Belt and Road Initiative” countries and China set up stalls to promote their home countries graciously and creatively.
Iranian fellows entertained guests with more than six kinds of exquisitely prepared dishes, andqueues were soon lining up before their stand for the exotic cuisine and their hospitability. Next to the Iranian booth, a Bangladeshi student was holding a monochord. A Chinese boy asked curiously,” “Why does it produce only one note?” “Because it is just a model, the real one is much larger”, plucking the string with a cheerful beat and swaying his body along the rhythm, he brought their valued instrument to life for the audience.
Nigerians had a large body of young men at the stand, drawing many students to take pictures with them. “Why don’t you have ladies here? Is it because ladies don't like China?” a girl joked. John, one of the Nigerian exhibitors laughed, “There are a lot of Nigerian ladies in China.” They also had Nigerian currencies stuck on the table, which led to another query, “Why do you choose to show your currencies?” “World economy would be ruined without currency exchange, so we deem it fit to further add gloss to our cultural heritage.” explained John.
Dynamic interactions carried on at the booths on the other side as well. Russian stand was surrounded by some girls and a couple who were devoted to painting Russian dolls in gorgeous colors. Gabonese booth was like a busy boutique , welcoming visitors to try on and take photos of their beautiful national costumes. Two Ethiopian girls were patiently making coffees using their hometown coffee beans. Many students stopped by to enjoy a bite of the freshly brewed coffee served in fine ceramic coffee cups. At Rwandan booth, students were teaching interested comers basic Kinyarwanda: muraho means hello, murakoze means thank you, murabeho means bye. “Mura means you with respect.” A tutor explained to the learners.
Specially,Interactional and Chinese students prepared a series of stage performances at the scene, and the music invited a big crowd of audience. Applauds for the talented shows broke out now and then. What’s more, USTC President BAO Xinhe’s presence triggered climax among visitors as well as exhibitors.
Dedicated exhibitors from different countries started chatting as visitor number dropped gradually two hours later. Hererie from Cameroonian booth and May from Egyptian booth are good friends. They went to the Chinese booth and wrote “Wo Ai Ka Mai Long He Ai Ji”, which means “we love Cameroon and Egypt”, in Chinese with writing brush and ink.
What a wonderful experience to explore, learn and share in the International Cultural Festival! With growing participants and more diverse activities, the Campus International Cultural Festival of USTC will go on to better serve both international students and Chinese students.
(WANG Juan, USTC New Center, Image by USTC Graduate Union and USTC News Center)
