On Wednesday, February 15, the Festival of Russian and Chinese culture “Opening the Doors” started. It is dedicated to the national culture of the two great countries – Russia and China.

The event was organized by the teachers of the department "Russian as a foreign language" of the Institute of International Cooperation, Penza State University (Irina Krylova, Elena Peskova, Olga Barabash) together with the teachers of secondary school No. 78.

The director of the school Yuri Kalyonov and the acting head of the department "Russian as a foreign language" Olga Barabash addressed the participants and guests of the festival with a welcoming speech.

“The goal of the festival is to open the doors to the world of traditional culture of Russia and China, to open the hearts of Russian and Chinese children for friendship, creativity and interethnic communication,” Olga Barabash emphasized.

The presenters were pupils of school No. 78, who have been studying Chinese for several years, and international students-linguists of PSU, studying Russian. The schoolchildren spoke about Russia, its national symbols and traditions, natural wealth and diversity of national cultures. The students from China introduced the audience to the main attractions of their country; famous people of ancient and modern China; the most ancient Chinese inventions that are now used all over the world (compass, gunpowder, silk, etc.). The girls and boys demonstrated hanfu and qipao - national Chinese clothes.

The guests of the festival were Penza Regional Wushu Federation, the exemplary choreographic ensemble Igritsa, the GOLDEN DIAMOND design school, and the Raspisnye Zori studio.

The festival is to last for two days. Today, on February 16, the young people will take part in games and workshops, thanks to which they will be able to learn even more new and interesting things about the culture and traditions of Russia and China.