The year 2019 was declared the Year of Belarusian Education in China, with many events in both countries. On 9 December Polotsk State University hosted the Festival of Belarusian and Chinese students "Culture and History of Belarus and China". Apart from PSU, the event was organized by the staff of the Confucius Institute for Science and Technology of BNTU and Weihai School of Foreign Languages Jing Yi.
Blitz Acquaintance
In order for each of the festival participants to relax and feel as comfortable as possible a special atmosphere was needed. This atmosphere was created by students of PSU Yang Shuuyan and Liang Xingxin with their musical performances. The games of acquaintance helped the participants to get even closer to each other for further joint work on projects.
Excursion Around the Polotsk College "History and Modernity"
During the sightseeing tour Chinese students and guests of our University got acquainted with the complex of Polotsk College and its numerous sights. Everyone could ask questions to “Wise Old Man” – a speaking mechanical head, reconstruction of Gabriel Gruber's project, see the academic procession of figures in the University clock and make a wish by throwing a coin into an ancient well.
Hieroglyphs and Tea Ceremony for Belarusian Students
A master class on hieroglyph writing was conducted by the teachers of Confucius Institute on Science and Technology at BNTU. They not only told them about the features of writing characters, but also invited students to try to draw the hieroglyphs themselves.
Belarusian students also got acquainted with the tea ceremony – an essential attribute of Chinese culture.
Belarusian Language for Students from China
A lesson in the Belarusian language was held for Chinese students at the Festival. First, the guests performed breathing exercises, then they uncovered the features of Belarusian spelling and pronunciation and learned how to get acquainted in Belarusian.
“Polotsk Selfie Quest”
The funniest way to get to know the sights of the city is to take a quest round it. To participate in the game “Polotsk Selfie Quest” students were divided into four teams, each of which received a map with tasks. The peculiarity was that after each task the teams had to make selfies.
Belarusian Games with the “Vargan” Folk Group
Funny Belarusian games with the “Vargan” folk group were a bright and memorable end of a busy day. The festival participants not only had fun, but also discovered the Belarusian culture from one side.
Throughout the day, students took photographs and noted the special traits of Belarusian and Chinese cultures. At the end of the Festival, they worked in groups on joint projects and showed their results in a form of presentations.
Victoria Chernyavskaya, international office specialist
