On the evening of Sept.29^th, Chinese Festival Revelry, organized by International Department of School of Economy and Management, was held in the Sunken Plaza of the Students’ Activity Centre. Supported by the School and International Cooperation Office of SEM, the activity came to a successful conclusion. A large number of students from home and abroad took part in the activity and had a wonderful evening there.

Chinese Festival Revelry aims at introducing the cultural features of traditional Chinese festivals. Well-prepared stalls each concentrating on a single festival have been set. And we have performances which also show the unique Chinese culture, such as dragon and lion dance, the tea ceremony, Hanfu show, erhu and pipa, Taiji. All students, overseas students in particular, were deeply absorbed by these and expressed their strong interest in the culture of China.

At the stalls, students could taste various traditional food and experience those interesting festival-only rituals. For instance, at the stall of Spring Festival and Lantern Festival, many overseas students tried Chinese paper-cutting and appreciated antithetical couplets. At the stall of Dragon Boat Festival, students were enthusiastic about learning wrapping rice dumplings. At the stall of the Double Ninth Festival, students took part in games which used to be played in the ancient Chinese royal court, such as Touhu. The stalls of the Magpie Festival and the Mid-autumn Festival also attracted plenty of people. What’s more, a wishing tree was set and quite a lot students tied the ribbon with their wishes onto the tree.

As the revelry was coming to an end, all students gathered together and danced to the music. No matter where they come from, everyone was hand in hand, shoulder to shoulder, danced together and enjoyed the revelry to the fullest.

This activity enables overseas students to learn about Chinese culture at the same time they enjoy themselves. Also it provides a good opportunity for overseas students and Chinese students to know each other and promoted the friendship. We do hope this kind of activities can be a bridge between foreign students and Chinese, and can serve as an invitation to China, to Tongji.