On the afternoon of February 19, the international students of the SPIA were invited by the Historic Block Community of Pingjiang Sub-district to “guess lantern riddles, make lanterns, eat sweet soup balls and celebrate the Lantern Festival” together with the residents there to better experience the traditional Chinese culture. Deputy Dean Zhang Xiaoning of the Faculty of International Education, Class Teacher Gong Ping of the international students, three students from the Republic of Congo and five Indonesian students showed up in this activity.

On the site of the activity, eight international students were divided into three groups and took part in the activities of making sweet soup balls and festive lanterns and writing the Chinese character “福” (blessing) respectively. It was the first time for the eight international students to know sweet soup balls, festive lanterns and lantern riddles. They experienced the traditional Chinese calligraphy with great interest on the scene brimming with harmony, happy laughter and cheerful voices which brought home-like warmth to the international students from afar.

At the beginning of 2019, according to the working arrangement, the Faculty of International Education took the opportunity of the traditional festival to carry out a series of activities for the international students to experience traditional Chinese culture, customs and conventions to help them better adapt to their learning and living environment.