On the afternoon of July 14, 2023, the opening ceremony of the 2023 “Chinese Bridge” Summer Camp for Russian students from the Confucius Institute at Novosibirsk State University(NSU) was held at Xinjiang University(XJU). The ceremony took place at the conference room 1113 in the Science and Technology Building. Li Xiaodong, Director of Department of International Cooperation and Exchanges of XJU, Bi Xinhui, Chinese Director of the Confucius Institute at NSU, and Iuliia Azarenko, Foreign Director of the Confucius Institute at NSU, attended the ceremony and delivered speeches. Nearly 30 students attended the opening ceremony, including 20 Russian students from the Confucius Institute at NSU and its teaching centers, as well as some Chinese volunteers from College of Foreign Languages and Journalism & Communication College of XJU.

Group photo at the opening ceremony

Li Xiaodong, Director of the Department of International Cooperation and Exchanges of XJU, expressed his warm welcome to the Russian teacher and students who came afar from the Confucius Institute at NSU. He hoped that the two-week Summer Camp will enable the young Russian students to fully understand and experience Chinese history and culture, learn about contemporary China, share achievements of the development in China and Xinjiang, and be good ambassadors and witnesses of Sino-Russian friendship and educational cooperation.

Iuliia Azarenko, Foreign Director of the Confucius Institute at NSU, briefly introduced the campers and expressed her hope that the Summer Camp could enrich the life experience of the students, and encouraged them to continue to study Chinese language, communicate with and learn from each other, and spend unforgettable time together. Afterwards, Bi Xinhui, Chinese Director of the Confucius Institute at NSU, said in her speech that the Summer Camp came true thanks to the joint efforts of both Chinese and Russian sides, and she hoped that the students would cherish this hard-won opportunity, learn more, experience more, try more, and work harder to improve their Chinese language proficiency.

Delivery of speeches at the opening ceremony

20 Russian students took turns and spoke in Chinese at the opening ceremony, expressing their love for the Chinese language and at the same time thanking XJU for providing them with the opportunity to come to China so that they could experience Chinese culture up close, enrich their knowledge, increase their insights and improve their Chinese language skills, and saying that they would continue to contribute to the friendship and cooperation between China and Russia.

The Summer Camp will last for 14 days. Besides attending courses on Chinese language and culture at XJU, the campers will also visit the regional museum, Nang cultural industrial park, International Bazaar at Erdaoqiao and other places to experience the history and folk culture of Xinjiang and gain a deeper understanding of Xinjiang. In addition, they will also go to visit Beijing Foreign Studies University, one of the counterpart universities supporting XJU.

Group photo at the airport in Urumqi