Chinese Culture Festival at INRTU: Taijiquan, master classes, exhibitions and tea ceremony
The Festival of Chinese Culture and Art started at INRTU on October 9. The event interested Irkutsk students and schoolchildren, representatives of partner universities fr om China. The program included a fair, Taijiquan training, tea ceremony, exhibitions and master classes. The festival is timed to the 75th anniversary of the People's Republic of China. The USSR was the first state to recognize the PRC and establish diplomatic relations. The importance of the festival was emphasized by the Rector of INRTU Mikhail Korniakov:
“This is not the first year we have held this event. The creative project has become known outside the university - schoolchildren and students from other universities, our partners from China have joined the event. Everyone who enters the polytechnic feels the atmosphere of the holiday. The hall is decorated with bright banners, Chinese lanterns and other colorful paraphernalia. We would like to note the rich program. Immersion in the Chinese culture will pass through creative and sports interactives. This festival can be called a bridge of friendship, strengthening cooperation between Russia and China”.
For the first time, the gym organized training in the Chinese martial art of Taijiquan. This is a popular health-improving gymnastics in China. The training interested Russian and Chinese students, as well as students of the Baikal Wushu League. Stepan Bykov, Vice-Rector for International Affairs of INRTU, and representatives of Henan Technological University made greetings. The opening ceremony of the festival, which was accompanied by the performance of the studio “Ethnobit”, was held in the lobby of the university. Vladimir Smirnov, Vice-Rector for Academic Affairs, and Xia Shuang, Advisor to the Rector for China, addressed the participants.
“We are happy to see students and our guests at the festival. Today you will get acquainted with Chinese culture, learn the history of the country. INRTU actively cooperates with universities of the People's Republic of China, which opens great opportunities for students of Politech. Every year students study at academic mobility programs, language internships in China. I wish you to actively participate in the festival and have a good time,”
Dmitry Dorokhin, Head of the Department of Monumental and Decorative Painting and Design named after V.G. Smagin, invited everyone to visit the exhibition of diploma works in the conference hall:
“The exhibit features the creative projects of Chinese students who have studied in our department.”
The program of the festival continued with a fair, and exhibition stands with works by Chinese artists were available for visiting. At one of the stands, students were invited to try on Hanfu clothes and take pictures. The students also diligently cut patterns out of paper and made bamboo sticks. It was possible to master coloring in the style of Chinese painting in the White Hall, wh ere the art-meditation “Golden Pen” took place. The most moving interactive activity was the wooden arrow throwing contest. During the quiz the students answered questions about Chinese culture, solved the puzzle “Wooden Castle”, and with the help of Chinese sticks moved beans fr om one container to another.
The master class on painting interested Zorigma Tsydenova, she is a student of Baikal State University who is studying Chinese:
“I came to the festival together with my classmates. At the interactive, we learned a fascinating technique that uses thin paper, a special stencil and bags for punching out colors. The drawings turned out to be very beautiful. For example, I made a Chinese dragon.”
A large queue formed at the tea ceremony. The visitors learned the traditions, tasted green tea with jasmine, white tea and one of the famous varieties of Lapsang.
Visitors to the fair were freshmen Maxim Bakhteev and Ilya Ivanchenko, who graduated from School No. 42 in Bratsk. Maxim is studying information technologies and communication systems at INRTU, while Ilya is mastering the construction profession.
“We were impressed by the decorations and decided to join the event. It was interesting to learn about the tea ceremony, to treat ourselves to tea with jasmine. We also liked the performance of the “Ethnobit”, studio - the group demonstrated a real drum show,” freshmen said.
On October 9, the festival continued with a concert of Chinese art, wh ere Chinese and Russian students performed creative numbers.
