From October 23-27, Confucius Institute DUT-BSU scholars went to Anhui, Jiangsu and Shanghai for cultural appreciation. This activity aimed to make international students appreciate cultural characteristics of different regions in China, facilitate their Chinese proficiency, enrich their life abroad and bolster their love for China.

        Guo Shuhong and Yang Liang guided students to visit Tian Zi Fang and appreciate lane culture in Shanghai. Next stop was Zhouzhuang Town, renowned as “No. 1 Water Town in China”, where tour group was greeted by a tranquil scene- “little bridge, flowing water and dwelling houses” precisely like the picture depicted in ancient poem. In Suzhou, they learned about knowledge of Chinese Buddhist and Chinese garden art in Hanshan Temple and Lingering Garden. International students exclaimed in surprise at divine skill and inventive mind of Chinese classical garden art. After tour of Suzhou, they went down to Thousand Islets Lake. When they were informed how it was formed, underwater ancient village provoked their sense of wonder immediately. Students and teachers climbed high to enjoy a distant view. At last, international students arrived in Anhui to appreciate Hong Village with a good reputation of “A Village in Chinese Painting” and have an idea about the history of Hui merchants and the unique pattern of Hui style architecture. On Bright Summit, the peak of Mount Huangshan, international students were quite enchanted with grand view and understood the implied meaning of an ancient saying, “Of all famous mountains, Mount Huangshan has the best of the best view.” One of students even sighed with emotion, “This is the most beautiful scenery, no other.”

        All students expressed that this cultural appreciation was very creditable and meaningful, largely improving perception and awareness of Chinese culture. For international students in China, especially for those in Dalian, it was a rare chance to go south and appreciate totally different cultural scenery and natural scenery. They were genuinely grateful to Center For Language Education and Cooperation (CLEC) and Dalian University of Technology (DUT) for this cultural appreciation activity. They were motivated to become the fans of Chinese culture and the envoy of sino-foreign economic and cultural exchanges.