Foreign Students Have "Yuanxiao" Festival in ChinaResource:中新网
Time:2009-02-28 23:50:04
With deepening exchange between China and other countries, more and more foreign students show great interest in Chinese traditional festivals such as "Yuan Xiao" or the Lantern Festival . "Yuan Xiao" in Chinese means family reunion and a good fortune in the coming year. On the day of January 9th of Chinese lunar calendar, Xiao Ruan (pinyin), a Korean student studying in Chinese Department of Zhejiang University, was invited to enjoy tangyuan(sweet dumpling specifically made on Lantern Festival in China) with his Chinese classmates. Xiao Ruan told the reporter “ Korea and China are geographically close, we are good neighbors with similar customs. The gracious hospitality of Chinese friends really makes me feel at home.” She also decided to share South Korean Kim chi and potato pie with her classmate.
Foreign students in Hangzhou are eager to spend the wonderful festival with unique Chinese features as the Lantern Festival is approaching. “I plan to take part in riddle-guessing activity and watch festive lanterns on the street on Lantern Festival Day.” said Xiao Guo from the tropical country, Tanzania, and shows great interest in traditional Chinese word play.
“It is great fun of seeing high-stilt walking and lion dances!” Xiao Wen from Uzbekistan said excitedly. He seemed to have a lot to say about the Spring Festival. He told the reporter with gestures, “I’ve heard about the Chinese New Year when I was in Uzbekistan, and I know that it is the day for family reunion. People get together enjoying dumplings and firecrackers. It sounds so fun, and it is not what I could experience in my country.”
Officials of Education Department of Zhejiang Province told reporters that since 2004, the number of overseas students in universities of Zhejiang grew at an average annual rate of thirty percent. By the end of 2007, over 6,000 foreign students from more than one hundred countries in the world have studied in Zhejiang Province for a substantial period. They come to China to pursue their further education in science, culture and technology, but more of them do so because they have great admiration for China’s five-thousand-year splendid history and cultural tradition. Chinese traditional culture is mostly reflected in the Spring Festival rather than other festivals. Teachers of Zhejiang University said, in order to experience the Chinese New Year with great Chinese flavor, many foreign students here planned to change their schedule and to come back earlier.
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