People of the Qiang ethnic group in southwest China's Sichuan Province put on grand festivities on its traditional new year, which fell on Friday this year.
The Qiang New Year Festival, or Harvest Festival in the Qiang language, is the most important traditional festival for the ethnic group, whose people mostly live in and around the Aba Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Sichuan. The Qiang New Year usually falls on the first day of the tenth month of the traditional Chinese calendar, with its central themes including celebrating the harvest, sending blessings, and praying for peace.
The first day of the New Year revelries featured the Qiang people clad in beautiful traditional costumes dancing and singing, time-honored ritual sacrifice ceremonies, a large hotpot-themed banquet, a lively dragon dance, an intangible heritage exhibition, and other folk activities.
"We enjoy quite a bountiful life now. Today is the Qiang New Year. I want to wish my folks of the Qiang ethnic group, including all my family members and friends, a happy new year. Good luck and happiness to you all," said Yu Xingbao, a staff member of the Ancient Qiang City, a popular tourist destination.
The festival was listed as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2009 for its valuable cultural significance.
China's Qiang ethnic group celebrates traditional new year
China's Qiang ethnic group celebrates traditional new year
The China Education Expo 2024 (CEE) wrapped up in Beijing on Saturday, offering international education providers a platform to connect with Chinese students and institutions.
The two-day event attracted more than 380 colleges and institutions from 38 countries and regions, including France, Finland, and the United States.
As a guest country, France introduced 35 institutions of higher learning to the expo, including comprehensive universities, engineering colleges, business schools and institutes of technology, many of which are world-renowned.
"We are the top business school in Europe. Our strengths lie in finance, consulting and interdisciplinary expertise," said Han Xiaotong, an admissions officer for HEC Paris in the Asia Pacific region.
Beginning on October 26, the expo was held in Guangzhou, Shanghai and Chengdu and saw a steady increase in the number of participating institutions. In Beijing alone, the number of participating institutions went up 25 percent compared with last year.
Portugal and Serbia were the first-time exhibitors this year. They hoped to enhance cooperation in education between their respective countries and China.
"By the numbers, the trend in the [number]of students from China going to Portugal is increasing along the years. We have been working with Chinese universities, and in the same way, we are promoting that Chinese students can go to Portugal. We welcome very much the offer that the Chinese authorities can do to increase the number of Portuguese students being send to China. That's the aim of people-to-people exchanges," said Paulo Nascimento, Portuguese ambassador to China.
"A very limited number of Chinese students are currently studying in Serbia, less than 1,000. We are here for the first time with cooperation between China and Serbia. And we think that we should promote more cooperation between the Chinese and Serbian higher education institutions, [because] there is room for improvement in this cooperation," said Maria, an exhibitor from Serbia.
The China Education Expo is a show tour organized by the China Education Association for International Exchange and held every October in Beijing, Shanghai and other cities since 2000. It is the largest student recruitment and B2B networking event in China, also an important part of the China Annual Conference and Expo for International Education.
Last year, 374 overseas schools, colleges, universities, governmental organizations, embassies and consulates from 34 countries and regions attended the CEE tour, which attracted around 30,000 visitors in four cities from all over the country.
China Education Expo concludes in Beijing
