The 3rd Dushu Lake Chinese & Foreign Culture Carnival held an opening ceremony on the afternoon of October 27th at Dushu Lake Students Service Center in Suzhou Industrial Park, Jiangsu province. Aiming to bring students from different cultural backgrounds closer to one another, the event schedules a series of themed activities over its month long duration, which includes singing contests, a football tournament, flea market, art performance, food court, and a Chinese cultural experience.

During the art performance, the audience was impressed by the creative demonstration of several British teachers who read ancient Chinese poetry aloud. "They presented a short play," said Li Qin, a first-year student at Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University, "this is a brand new approach and it represents their exploration of Chinese culture."

She also found the program of Indian dance fascinating. "I've never been to India but I’m already falling for it," she told the reporter. "The music, the costumes, and the dancing, you can feel the glamour of this country."

As usual, the food booths gathered the most crowds at the carnival, especially after the excitements of the art performances and culture experience.

The students presented the most popular dishes in their home countries, including the pie of Provence, Korean rice cake, Hong Kong pineapple bun, and the French crepe. "Food is an important part of a country's culture," said Rina at the Malaysian booth. "We hope to introduce the typical food of Malaysia to the students from other countries so that they'll get to know more about us."

Unlike previous sessions, this year's section of culture experience focused on traditional Chinese culture and offered themed classes for foreign students to get a first-hand experience with Chinese calligraphy, painting, seal-engraving, tea ceremony, and paper-cutting.

"Most foreign students would like to learn how to write their Chinese names with a brush," said Li Jiayu, a sophomore of art from Soochow University. "I take the carnival as an extracurricular activity. This is a good way for Chinese and foreign students to talk with each other and to learn from each other." [Photo/SIP News]