Culture festival showcases integration

A visitor poses for a picture at the Uganda booth during a cultural festival at the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing on Thursday. WANG JING/CHINA DAILY

A cultural festival hosted at a Chinese university on Thursday showcased the exchange and integration of diverse cultures and traditions across the world.

"This event is a testament to the diversity that defines our global community and the enduring bonds of friendship and cooperation that unite nations across the world," Aseffa Endashaw, minister counselor of the Ethiopian embassy in China, said.

A visitor took a selfie with international students at the Russian booth during a culture festival at the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing on Thursday. [LI MENGHAN/CHINA DAILY]

He was speaking at an international cultural festival organized by the University of International Business and Economics, which welcomed over 40 diplomatic representatives and personnel and 2,200 international students to partake in a shared exploration of diverse cultures with Chinese students.

"It is a wonderful event and I really had a lot of fun today," said Osama Zahran from Amman, Jordan, adding that he had talked to many people, tried delicious food from across the world and shared his country's culture with other people.

A Mongolian youth teaches a visitor how to play archery at a culture festival at the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing on Thursday. [LI MENGHAN/CHINA DAILY]

The 39-year-old said his yearlong stay in China had shown him China's advances in areas like infrastructure construction, international transportation and artificial intelligence. He added that the event demonstrated the inclusive side of China, and he hoped to promote such events in his country, allowing its people to learn more about the world.

Yaandwa Shisholeka, a Zambian freshman at the university, described the event as "fantastic" and enthusiastically introduced characteristic practices from the African country, such as how Zambians often travel about by boat during the rainy season.

Federico Roberto Antonelli, cultural counselor of the Italian embassy in China, visits the Italian booth at a culture festival at the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing on Thursday. [LI MENGHAN/CHINA DAILY]

"The most interesting part about the event is that although many of us are meeting here for the first time, we immerse ourselves in the atmosphere, talk to everyone and feel like a big family," said Wang Weijie, a senior Chinese student who attended the event for the first time. "The international students, who are guests in China, exude immense confidence as they showcase their own cultures at the event. This has fostered a sense of cultural exchange where everyone is part of the global village."

Wang said that being at a multicultural school, it's common for him to meet with foreigners, encounter signs in various languages and see decorations of different cultures.

Visitors buy traditional foods at a booth at a culture festival at the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing on Thursday. [LI MENGHAN/CHINA DAILY]

As one of the first universities in China to receive foreign students, UIBE has trained 46,000 international students in the past 70 years, the university's Party secretary, Huang Baoyin, said.

Huang said the university will continue to expand the scale, range and quality of international education, offering students ample opportunities to engage, communicate and present themselves.

A guy introduces unique animals in Ecuador at a culture festival at the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing on Thursday. [LI MENGHAN/CHINA DAILY]

Peng Chengcheng contributed to this story.