On the afternoon of November 13, 2019, a Sino-Russian cultural salon was held in the Russian Center of Jilin University. This activity was co-sponsored by the School of Foreign Languages and the School of International Education of Jilin University. It is part of a series of activities of cultural exchanges between Chinese and foreign students in Jilin University. The students attending the salon included students from the Russian Department of the School of Foreign Languages of Jilin University and international students from Russia, Kazakhstan and Tajikistan. The purpose of this activity is to enhance the exchange between Chinese students and Russian-speaking students, cultivate students’ international vision, stimulate the learning enthusiasm of Chinese and foreign students, improve students’ cultural knowledge of the target-language countries, and lay a solid foundation for cross-cultural exchanges.
The activity started at 13:30 and was presided over by Zhao Shuohan, a student of Russian Department. Mr. Xue Lei, vice president of the School of International Education of Jilin University, delivered an opening speech. During the activity, Chinese and Russian students took turns to introduce the culture of their hometown. Lu Jiawei, Song Nannan, Xu Xinyue, Liu Gengjun, Li Jing, Li Yunhao, Su Yu and Song Ziwei, students from the Russian Department of the School of Foreign Languages introduced the distinctive culture of their hometown, such as food, paper cutting, Chinese opera, Shaolin martial arts, Tao Te Ching and other cultural heritages. Danxia Landform, Crescent Spring in Gansu and other amazing natural scenery, Mo Kao Grotto at Dunhuang and the Terra Cotta Warriors of Emperor Qinshihuang and other historical and cultural sites of interest were also included. In addition, the overseas students, Еремеев Антон, Федоров Андрей, Цващенко Татьяна, Пантаева Екатерина and Пантаева Екатеринагадан shared the national culture phenomenon of their countries, the wonderful aurora near the polar circle, and the religious beliefs and customs of their hometowns. The presentations were conducted in an orderly way. The students introduced their own cultures from different perspectives, arousing waves of praise and applause.
After the presentations was the section of free communication. Students were divided into six groups, each group with international students and Chinese students from Russian Department. They shared some interesting topics in their life and study as well as the unique cultural events in their countries.
Through this salon, Chinese students had a more comprehensive understanding of the culture and customs of Russia, Kazakhstan and Tajikistan, and foreign students had a more profound understanding of China’s natural scenery and customs, which is conducive to their faster integration into China’s living environment and in-depth perception of the 5000-year history and culture of the Chinese nation. The salon had provided a platform for cross-cultural communication between Chinese and foreign students, and would promote the multi-ethnic cultural exchanges among young college students.
