On June 17, 2017 the Russian-Chinese Youth Forum “Volga – Yangtze. Charming Anhui” finished, its prior aim was to develop cross-cultural communication between two states. Nine students from Penza HEIs, four of them from Penza State University, represented our region in the forum in China.

Kseniya Abramova, student of the Institute of Economics and Administration, and Olga Rodzina, student of the Faculty of History, Languages and Literature, shared impressions about their trip.

“We underwent rigorous selection, the participants should have a good command of English (the working language in the forum), as well as creative abilities. Our team included a gymnast, an artist, a singer and a photographer. Their skills and abilities were useful when we made a presentation about the Penza Region to our Chinese friends on one of the days of cultural program. On the final day we sang in the choir in the Russian and Chinese languages,” Olga Rodzina noted.

“As we were told during the interview, the main objective of the forum was to foster bilateral relations between Russia and China and to lay the groundwork for fruitful cooperation. While international direction within the youth forum was aimed at developing joint projects, e.g. in medicine, education, culture. We hope that following the information received about educational programs in Russia there will be more Chinese students in Penza,” Kseniya Abramova stressed.

“Awareness of students’ role at the inter-political level requires a certain responsibility. It was the honor for us to demonstrate richness of Russian culture to Chinese friends. We were glad to present our country, science, literature, art, and cinema,” Olga Rodzina added.

“The programme of our visit was rich. During twelve forum days we were given lectures about China, its culture, literature, educational and exchange programs. Moreover we attended course of traditional Chinese morning exercises. For me China was a great discovery, I fully realized how the People’s Republic of China differs from other countries. It got me thinking about the complexity of the world. China is a unique mix of the most advanced trends in architecture and ancient culture, authentic art. You can see here a modern building equipped with various technologies ranging from smart doors to helicopter pads and an old well-groomed shaggy tree near it,” Kseniya Abramova emphasized.

“What struck me most were Chinese students of non-linguistic specialties acquainted with Pushkin’s works. They devote considerable attention to studying the Russian language and know well Russian classical and modern writers, e.g. Fyodor Dostoyevsky and Vladimir Nabokov. It should be noted that the Chinese are meticulous about their culture and traditions. During the excursion in the Huangshan Mountains Chinese students told us about their sovereigns, peoples, and role of citizen militia in details,” Olga Rodzina underlined.

According to students the participation in the forum egged on them to take Master’s degree courses in China. This will let them take part in exchange programs and gain knowledge and experience.