From January 13 to 28, 2022, “Colorful Huaxia, Charming China” Winter Camp was successfully held, sponsored by the Center for Language Education and Cooperation under China’s Ministry of Education, and organized by Zhejiang Sci-Tech University (ZSTU). More than 340 students from over 40 countries, including Mauritius, Suriname, Korea, Morocco, Pakistan, Vietnam, Russia and Canada, signed up for the Winter. The number of CI-UoM participants (126) accounted for nearly 40% of the total number and it reflected Mauritian people’s great interest and enthusiasm in Chinese language and culture.
Opening ceremony of “Colorful Huaxia, Charming China” Winter Camp
“Colorful Huaxia, Charming China” Winter Camp was conducted via online live classes and recorded classes. The sessions started at 15.00 hrs local time. It covered five categories such as clothing, food, housing, transportation and essentials, and combined language learning with cultural experience. The students experienced Chinese traditional culture and modern trends through topics such as ‘Film and Television’, ‘Poetry China’, ‘A Taste of China’, ‘China Fashion’, ‘Innovations in China’, ‘Healthy China’, ‘Wisdom China’, ‘China Audio-Visual Art’, ‘Leisure China’ and ‘Art China’. In addition to cultural courses and lectures, the winter camp also offered basic language courses such as ‘Chinese Speaking’, ‘Basic Travel Chinese’, ‘Learning Chinese’ by Songs and ‘Wisdom of Chinese Characters’, so that the students could better learn and acquire Chinese language knowledge and skills while experiencing the colorful cultural themes.
Some CI-UoM participants’ homework and wishes for the Spring Festival
At the opening ceremony on January 13, Boolaky Dhanrani, a CI student and sophomore of UoM, spoke as the representative of the students. She expressed her love for Chinese culture, her expectation for the winter camp and her gratitude to Zhejiang Sci-Tech University and the teachers. At the closing ceremony on January 28, Oy Ming Law Pakhun of CI-UoM spoke on behalf of all CI-UoM students. She reviewed her gains from the winter camp and thanked the teachers for their hard work. Like other students, this winter camp had deepened her understanding of Chinese language and culture, strengthened her confidence in learning Chinese. She hoped to continue to participate in such group exchange projects next year. As the closing ceremony coincided with the arrival of the Spring Festival, the students also expressed their wishes for the Spring Festival in different forms.
List of Outstanding Students in the Winter Camp
CI-UoM students showed great enthusiasm for learning as they worked hard to coordinate time, overcome network difficulties, and successfully completed the two weeks’ lessons and cultural exchanges. The teachers of Zhejiang Sci-Tech University highly praised the performance of the Mauritian students. Among the 20 outstanding students selected at the end of the Winter Camp, 13 were from CI-UoM.
CI-UoM will endevour to cooperate with Zhejiang Sci-Tech University in organizing Chinese language teaching and Chinese culture projects, so that more Mauritians can experience the charm of Chinese language and culture.