VSSPU Deputy Rector for academic work Mr. Sergey Glazov addressed the audience with a welcoming speech. He revealed that VSSPU was one of the first universities in the Southern Federal District to become a partner of the worldwide network of Confucius Institutes.

"Chinese as an educational major has been taught at our university since 2002. Currently, more than 100 students from China are studying at our university. For almost 20 years, VSSPU together with Changchun University have been implementing a joint educational project for the preparation of Bachelors in Russian Language and Translation. And at the end of 2022, VSSPU and Qujing Normal University became partners," commented Mr. Deputy Rector.

Mr. Sergey Ushakov, Deputy Head of the International and Regional Relations Directorate at Volgograd Mayor's Office, referred to the Chinese Sister-Cities' History and Culture Day as to a fascinating, colorful and very important event.

"For Volgograd, its cooperation with its sister-cities is a matter of special importance. After all, it was Stalingrad and the British Coventry that became the first sister-cities in 1944, and this initiative did not stem from their politicians, but from their regular citizens. This practice remains the same, and even now, the residents of sister-cities are the primary actors of their cooperation. Their projects and contacts are a special kind of diplomacy – the so called people's diplomacy, or citizen one. The City of Volgograd sees its mission in the development of the informal and versatile contacts between residents of municipalities. Therefore, among the organizers of our event, there is not only VSSPU, but also the VSSPU Center for Peoples Diplomacy. We are pleased that such projects and events are of interest to schoolchildren and young people, because cooperation with sister-cities is a source of new knowledge and skills, it broadens one's outlook, encourages one to discover new languages and hobbies, and helps to find new friends," emphasized Mr. Deputy Head.

Representatives of the People's Republic of China presented their cities, spoke about their history and current life, as well as about the main areas of their cooperation with Volgograd.

It should be noted that all Volgograd's sister-cities are located in different provinces of China, each of which has a unique geographical, historical and cultural heritage. The home to winter sports champions, northern Jilin, paraded its sports base, snow-covered landscapes and scientific cooperation with Russia. The capital of cuisine and giant pandas, Chengdu, demonstrated the face-changing art of the Sichuan Opera. Dynamic Qujing – home to the highest bridge and the most beautiful waterfall cascade in China – delivered a fascinating presentation of its investment potential.

With particular pleasure, the Chinese guests – representatives of the leadership of the Foreign Affairs Offices at the People's Governments of Jilin, Chengdu and Qujing – noted that a particularly active role in the development of their cooperation with Volgograd is played by schoolchildren and students.

"Let the spring of your youth write a new chapter in the development of exchanges and cooperation between Russia and China!" wished Mr. Zhou Zhou from Qujing.

"It is through cooperation that we exchange in-depth opinions and learn from each other," said Ms. Wu Zhijuan from Chengdu.

"We will be happy to see Volgograd friends in our city!" concluded Ms. Li Yao from Jilin.

The official part of the meeting was followed by an interactive part. Teachers of the VSSPU Confucius Institute organized a lecture on "Fascinating hieroglyphs" and a master class "Chinese craft: weaving a "knot of luck".

At the end of the meeting, Chinese students of the VSSPU Institute of Art Education performed two songs in Russian and Chinese.

Source and photo: VSSPU