The 11th Food Culture Festival and the 6th International Cultural Festival kicked off on the occasion of SCNU's 90th anniversary on November 3. SCNU has designed a special "passport". Let's take the passport and enjoy this culture and food trip!

The special passport for the festival.

Culture

Three photo exhibitions with themes "Connect with the World", "My Experience as an International Student at South China Normal University" and "Excellent Traditional Chinese Culture" were displayed at the hall on the first floor of the School of International Culture. They showcased colorful scenery and folk customs of different countries.

The "Connect with the World" photo exhibition focused on the integration of diverse cultures, presenting the customs of many countries in Asia, Europe, America and Africa. "My Experience as an International Student at SCNU" showcased the daily life of international students at South China Normal University, embodying their real life and feelings in China. "The Excellent Traditional Chinese Culture" highlighted the essence of Chinese culture, including Chinese musical instruments such as the guqin, Chinese traditional clothing hanfu, and tai-chi. It allows visitors to fully appreciate the charm of excellent traditional Chinese culture.

Furthermore, the artistic performances captured the attention of many faculty members and students. There were many excellent performances at the show, including the Vietnamese bamboo pole dance, Chinese lion dance, Beijing opera, Sichuan opera, and Sugar-figure blowing. Students from all over the world at SCNU sang and danced, offering a cultural feast for the audiences.

The scene of the artistic performance.

Food

The bustling food carnival attracted many students and teachers. Lots of food booths were set up by foreign students, from Thailand, Vietnam, the USA, Indonesia, Ethiopia, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and other countries. They were dressed in their traditional costumes and brought their country's special cuisine and cultural products to the fore.

At the Bangladeshi booth, faculty and students were tasting Fuchka, a famous street food in Bangladesh. After one bite of the crispy crust, you can taste the filling full of spices. Its unique taste left every passer-by a deep impression.

The Bangladeshi booth owner makes Fuchka.

The American booth not only brought American food but also the traditional Mexican game pinata. They hung up a paper puppet in a horse shape, and then visitors struck at it with their eyes closed, creating an exciting atmosphere.

People play pinata at the American booth.

At the Iranian booth, the owner dressed in Iranian style to show Iranian culture. Different from other booths, the Iranian booth mainly displayed local specialties, including spices made from saffron, and textile products.

Handicrafts and spices at the Iranian booth.

Besides the international food booths, there were Chinese food booths with hot pot skewers, crispy meat, spicy salted duck, and chilled noodles, attracting many foreign and Chinese students to taste.

Crispy meat at the Northeast China booth.

Also, tea culture and ink painting, two important parts of Chinese culture, were on display at the festival. Smelling the fragrance of tea, all teachers and students in SCNU can appreciate the long history of Chinese culture.

In addition, with the concept of "Complete Education in Three Ways" and "Well-rounded Education", the festival carried out activities themed in five dimensions: moral, intellectual, physical, aesthetic, and labor education. At the aesthetic education booth, faculty and students wrote down their sincere wishes to SCNU and stuck the notes on the blessing board.

The blessing board at the aesthetic booth.

The school cafeterias across all SCNU's four campuses prepared delicate vegetable carvings to celebrate SCNU's 90th anniversary.

Comments

Stefy, a Peruvian student who helped set up their booth, prepared Mexican and Colombian food together with other students from Latin America. She was very grateful for this festival because it not only offered an opportunity to communicate with more students from Latin America but also made her feel involved.

Stefy, a freshman of the School of International Culture, comes from Peru.

The Russian student Ma Long, who had been looking around at various booths, thoroughly enjoyed his time at the festival. He tasted many snacks that represented unique cultures. Among all the offerings, he was most impressed by Thai food. Different from Russian food, the sweet and spicy flavors were very refreshing.

Ma Long, a second-year graduate student, comes from Russia.

The two students both hoped more foreign students would come to SCNU for further study and expressed their best wishes.

Source from SCNU News Center, the School of International Culture

Translated by Wan Wenhui, Cai Xiaoyang, Zeng Wenting

Proofread by Edwin Baak

Edited by Wang Yingmin