International Students at SJTU Participating in “Get to Know China” Activity Organized by CSC in 2015
From November 20 to 22, fourteen distinguished international students, recipients of Chinese government scholarship, at SJTU participated in the activity “Get to Know China ” organized by China Scholarship Council (CSC). The aim of this activity is to enable the international students in China to know more about China’history and culture as well as the achievements resulting from reform and opening up, thus fostering their emotional ties with China, strengthening their sense of honor as recipients of Chinese government scholarship and inspiring them to study harder. 151 international students from 55 countries, studying at 15 universities and colleges in Shanghai, took part in the activity.
This activity is held in Dongtai city, Jiangsu province. Dongtai has always been an important economic centre as a coastal city, and is well-known for producing salt, fish and rice. The salt stove culture of Dongtai, the cradle of Huai salt culture, is rather typical of China’s salt culture. On the first day, the internationals students visited City Planning Exhibition Hall and Art & Culture Museum as scheduled. The Art & Culture Museum contains four exhibition centres: preface, the art of hair embroidery, Chinese paintings and the art of calligraphy, and the art of Erhu (Chinese traditional musical instrument) for kids. With the explanations from the staff at the museum, the international students are able to further understand the unique hair embroidery art and better appreciate the beauty of Chinese paintings, calligraphy and the Chinese traditional music instrument Erhu.
Then the international students paid a visit to some other cultural and historical sites with distinctive local characteristics, including Xixi ancient city, Haichun Tower, Cultural Park for Dong Yong and Qi xiannv (They are a couple in a household Chinese ancient myth). The international students wandered around in the old streets and walked on the long alleys made of bluestones, with light-coloured smoke floating around and some passers-by appearing now and then. In addition, they enjoyed the beauty of Haichun Tower. This tower looks like a giant standing between the green mountains and clean rivers if viewed from a long distance; however, if viewed from a short distance, it seems to be an extremely high pillar reaching for the sky. Moreover, the vivid sculpture of Dong Yong and Qi Xiannv made of white marble left a deep impression on the international students. Under the blue sky and the white cloud, the sculptures silently unveiled their love story, which has been told from generations after generations for thousands of years in China.
On the second day of the activity, the international students went to Huanghai Forest Park for sightseeing. This is a clean place where no environmental pollution can be seen and where human beings and nature live in harmony. This forest park, also known as a “Green Oxygen Bar”, is a nice option for sightseeing and relaxing. With one blow of the autumn wind, some leaves were falling down, dancing like golden butterflies. The autumn wind brought a light-golden carpet to the ground. The international students enjoyed the amazing natural scenes and happily took some photos. Another unique scenic spot is the dirt roads stretching along the sea. People can capture a good image of the sea from this place. When the tide rises, roaring water assumes the dominance; while when the tide falls, it returns to peace and tranquility. The laughter of the international students spread further and further with the assistance of the sea breeze.
“The trip to Dongtai City is an unforgettable experience with the amazing sea salt culture, Buddhist culture as well as the love stories of Chinese ancient mythology. The modern agriculture and the sci-tech parks are quite impressive as well. I will suggest my friends and family members to visit here so that more and more can came here.” The activity provided an opportunity for recipients of Chinese government scholarship to personally experience the charm and profoundness of Chinese culture and get to know the actual situations of the local social and economic development. Thorough this activity, they have developed a positive view on China.