A group of international students in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality on Tuesday immersed in the unique culture of China's traditional Laba Festival, deepening their understanding of Chinese New Year customs.
More than 30 students from Southwest University took part in a comprehensive cultural event at Pianyan Ancient Town, a historic site with over 300 years of history, to experience the local customs and rich cultural legacy of China's ancient festival.
The Laba Festival, celebrated on the eighth day of the twelfth month on the Chinese lunar calendar, marks the beginning of preparations for the Chinese New Year. One of the most well-known traditions is the cooking and eating of Laba congee. For many overseas students, it was their first time tasting this traditional dish.
"This is very different from our food because it's like rice and beans. In our country, it's mostly spicy, but it is sweet here. So, it's very different from, but we like it, we love it," said Anum, a student from Pakistan.
The event also featured local artists who showcased their calligraphy skills on-site, by writing Spring Festival couplets for these foreign students. Some of the young people also had the opportunity to try their hand at Chinese writing art themselves.
"I used to see this in social media and everywhere. And I really wanted to try it like how people feel when they are drawing, painting and writing because you learn something new, because it's a new culture, new traditions, new ways of thinking at the same time. I think it's a fortune or good luck or blessing. So I'm gonna stick this to my wall because I need this blessing in my life," said Abbastihad from Algeria.
To experience the diverse traditions of the Laba Festival, the international students participated in a range of cultural activities, including traditional crafts like flower arranging, sugar painting, and paper-cutting, as well as visiting an ancient theater to watch folk performances.
Int'l students discover rich traditions of Laba Festival in Chongqing
A conference on sustainable development cooperation among Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) member states concluded with the signing of 18 key projects worth a total of 4.795 billion yuan (about 655.5 million U.S. dollars) on Thursday in north China's Tianjin Municipality.
The projects, covering new energy, new materials, infrastructure, and automotive supply chains, are expected to boost practical cooperation among member states.
Nearly 400 guests, including officials and enterprises from SCO member states, attended the opening session. The conference is part of a series of activities ahead of the upcoming SCO summit in China this autumn.
The agreements involve eight countries, including the UAE, Egypt, and Uzbekistan. Notable projects include a 200-megawatt transformer substation in Egypt's Suez Canal Economic Zone and a collaboration between the UAE and Tianjin Municipality to help local enterprises expand overseas.
Ahmed El Homosani, CEO of the Sczone Utilities, highlighted the importance of the power substation project in attracting quality investments. "What we are going to sign is a framework agreement regarding building a new substation, 200 mega of electricity power. It will attract more and better investments," he said.
Meanwhile, Avinash Jagetiya, CEO of UAE's Sun Management Consulting, emphasized the significance of the cooperation agreement with Tianjin. "Yes, I'm certainly looking forward to this conference and that is the reason I'm here. And in this conference also we are going to sign an MOU (Memorandum of understanding) with Tianjing government. And this project is a step forward in serving the Tianjin enterprises and expanding their footprints and overseas market," he said. The conference also featured specialized sessions on energy, infrastructure, and mining cooperation. Energy cooperation was a focal point, with representatives from Kyrgyzstan noting increased interest from Chinese investors in energy projects.
"At present, a large number of Chinese investors are directly engaged with Kyrgyzstan's State Investment Agency for energy projects, including hydropower, solar and wind power plants," said Maksatbek Botoyarov, chief specialist of the Department of Investment Attraction and Regional Development of Kyrgyzstan.
Participants, including representatives from traditional energy firm LONGi, expressed commitments to increasing investments in the new energy sector and exploring green transformation pathways with SCO members.
"Over the years, we have developed green electricity and green hydrogen products and technical solutions to help these SCO countries achieve their sustainable development and energy transition. We are also actively communicating with the Kazakh government to formulate specific plans and programs for implementation," said Shi Shufeng, marketing director of LONGi's Central and East African Market.
SCO sustainable development conference secures 18 projects involving nearly 4.8 bln yuan
