University festival brings peoples together in cultural day of celebration

Dressed in exquisite traditional Indonesian batik attire, Wenny and her classmates were busy at their country's booth on the campus of Beijing Foreign Studies University, introducing visitors to the angklung, a traditional bamboo musical instrument. Curious young people and children shook the bamboo tubes, producing a series of melodious sounds.

Wenny, 20, is a second-year Indonesian student at Beijing Foreign Studies University, and her booth was one of many at this year's International Cultural Festival hosted by the university. The festival, held on Saturday, drew both Chinese and international students from various universities across Beijing, as well as local residents.

"It's an excellent opportunity to show our country's culture to young people. Very interesting," said Wenny.

They spent two weeks to prepare the booth. And the instruments and various exquisite batik fabrics displayed at their booth were provided with the support of the Indonesian Embassy in China.

Dozens of booths representing different countries lined both sides of the road, with international students from the university representing their respective countries. They displayed their culture, intangible heritage, tourism, arts, and cuisine to young people.

Visitors tried on hanbok (a traditional dress) at the Korean booth, got intricate henna designs on their hands at the Sri Lankan booth, and played Fanorona at the Madagascar booth. They also enjoyed international cuisine prepared by the international students, such as Vietnamese spring rolls, Pakistani biryani, and Malaysian nasi lemak.

The cultural festival is a brand campus event created by students of Beijing Foreign Studies University. Since its first edition in 2018, it has been successfully held three times. The event brings together young people from five continents through various forms such as multicultural booths, campus parades, and talent shows, creating a global exchange platform that transcends regions, languages, and cultures, said Kai Lin, a teacher from the Overseas Students Affairs Office at Beijing Foreign Studies University, which organized the event.

"Our school has international students from nearly 100 countries and resources in 102 languages. We aim to strengthen the connections and interactions among young people from various countries," said Kai.

Rabialahy Kantosoa from Beijing Technology and Business University plays Fanorona, a traditional two-player board game from Madagascar, with a Chinese young opponent at the Madagascar booth. They were deeply engaged in the game, and in the end, the Chinese student won. Onlookers were asking about the rules of the game.