In Hangzhou in December 2019, Zhejiang held the 13th Dream and Travel , a cultural program designed to give international students in the province an opportunity to take part in various cultural activities.

As international student programs in the province’s higher education institutions have been seeing fast growth and progress in recent years, more and more international students come to study in Zhejiang and these programs have improved quality. Statistics indicate that by the end of 2019 there were over 41,000 international students taking various courses in colleges and universities across Zhejiang.

The 13th Dream and Travel in Zhejiang is jointly sponsored by Zhejiang Education Administration, Information Office and Foreign Affairs Office of the Zhejiang Provincial People’s Government, and Zhejiang Radio & TV Group.

The program of this year was composed of three events: a speech competition, a competition for Chinese cultural activities, and a visit to the Liangzhu Museum, which showcases the 5,000-year history of the ancient city state of Liangzhu. More than 1,000 international students took part in the program this year.

On December 13, over 200 international students from 13 universities and colleges in Zhejiang appeared at the competition for Chinese cultural activities  at the conference center on the campus of China Jiliang University in Hangzhou. The gala included such shows as singing and dancing, a fashion show, poetry reciting, and martial arts. Chen Hongxu, an Indonesian student at Zhejiang Gongshang University, appeared in a kungfu show. “I am happy to study Chinese kungfu and I hope to start a Wushu school in my hometown where I can carry on the Chinese kungfu,” says the Indonesian.

Sobirov Mustakim from Tajikistan shared his story with international students at the show. When he was a child, He wondered why his father was absent two or three months a year. The boy learned that his father was in China to buy goods for his business in Tajikistan. It was the first time the youngster heard of China. As he grew up, his curiosity about the country in the east grew. That was why he wanted to come to China, he shared. He has been in China for seven years and he is now a graduate student. Moreover, he runs an e-commerce company. Alibaba, the world’s biggest e-commerce platform based in Hangzhou, inspired him to set up his own company which connects Hangzhou and Tajikistan. “International traders in my home country should have their own Alibaba to reduce cost and boost profitability.” 

On December 14, over 300 international students visited the archaeological site of the ancient Liangzhu City in Hangzhou.

The final of the speech competition of the event took place in November. Over 80 speakers emerged from preliminary competitions held respectively at colleges and universities. Of the 80 some speakers, two won first awards, four grabbed second awards, six took third awards and six seized excellence awards.

One of the first-place winners was Li Hei (his Chinese name means Black Lee) from Cameroon, Africa. He started his study of clinical medicine as an undergraduate at Wenzhou University in 2012. He is now a graduate student of Wenzhou Medical University. His graduate study focuses on eyes. When he first arrived, he could hardly speak any Chinese. Now he reads, writes and speaks Chinese pretty well. His knowledge of Chinese language and culture has opened his eyes to the oriental country. He says he loves China.

        “我很喜欢中文，通过这几个月对中文的专业学习，也越来越爱上中国文化。”22岁的罗娜来自塔吉克斯坦，目前是杭州师范大学中文专业大一学生，她直言，“杭州、浙江非常美丽，等我毕业后，想回国当一个中文老师，把这里学到的东西讲给更多人。”

        不久前，浙江省外国留学生“梦行浙江”系列活动在杭州举行，分为演讲比赛、外国留学生中华才艺展演以及优秀外国留学生良渚古遗址参观三大部分。来自80多个国家的千余名外国留学生参加了各项活动。

展演中华才艺

        在中国计量大学嘉量大会堂，浙江大学、浙江工业大学、宁波大学、中国计量大学、浙江中医药大学、杭州师范大学、杭州电子科技大学、浙江工商大学、浙江理工大学、浙江科技学院、浙江农林大学、温州医科大学、浙江越秀外国语学院等13所高校的200余名留学生，进行了中华才艺展演。

        水鼓舞旗、戏曲联唱、配乐朗诵、服装表演、武术、独唱……多才多艺的留学生们轮番上台，为在场观众献上了一出“超级洋气”的视觉盛宴。

        “中华美食真的超级好吃，我在浙江大学读书才几个月，已经肥了一圈。”翁启汶来自马来西亚，是浙江大学化学工程工艺的大一生，他说，自己算是第四代华裔，“语言方面完全没有问题，我对中国很有亲切感，在这里就像在自己家一样。中国古老又先进，我为文化折服，为科技点赞。”

        “很高兴，能够在这里学习专业的中国功夫，我希望能在故乡办一所武术学校，把中国功夫传承下去。”陈洪旭是来自浙江工商大学的一名印度尼西亚留学生，他与同学们一起表演的《中国功夫》，赢得如潮的掌声与好评。

        留学生中，不少还是青年创业者，塔吉克斯坦小伙孟轲是其中的明星学生。在中华才艺展演现场，通过视频，孟轲分享了自己的故事。关于为何来到中国，孟轲说，小时候父亲每年有两三个月的时间不在家，问起母亲才知道父亲去中国进货了。从那时起，他对中国产生了强烈的好奇。

        现在，已在中国待了七个年头的孟轲，正攻读硕士学位。除了学生的身份，他还创办了自己的电子商务公司。谈及创业初衷，孟轲说：“杭州已经有阿里巴巴，所以我想让家乡的外贸商人也拥有他们的‘阿里巴巴’，让外贸依托互联网节省成本、提高效率。”

钟情中华诗词

        来自35所高校的80余名外国留学生，从本校的预赛中脱颖而出，被学校推荐参加全省的演讲比赛。

        经过预赛和决赛，决出2名一等奖、4名二等奖、6名三等奖和6名优秀奖。

        来自喀麦隆的黑人小伙子李黑获得了一等奖。这位温州医科大学留学生十分热爱中华诗词，通过读古诗，他渐渐地读懂了中国。

        “李白举杯邀明月，李黑把酒诗两篇。”每当有人和李黑聊中华文化，他总会起身吟诗作对，有时还会作举杯状，或将手置于背后，拿一把折扇，抬起头仰望明月，一副唐宋文人范儿。

        说起在中国留学的最大感受，李黑引用了唐代诗人王勃的诗句：“海内存知己，天涯若比邻。”

        他说，在中国学习期间，他被中国朋友们的热情所感染，体会到新时代中国的开放包容。2012年，李黑初来中国，在温州医科大学临床医学专业读本科，和中国学生一起上课，“同学们热情地帮助我学习，让我很快融入到这个温暖的大家庭里。”

        和所有来华留学生一样，李黑在中国学习期间，目睹了身边发生的大大小小的变化。他看到了人民生活水平的快速提高，亲身经历了令人惊讶的“中国速度”，李黑说：“我知道，当今中国的发展，是每一位中国人艰苦奋斗所取得的成绩。”

        李黑饶有兴致地念起他写的一首打油诗：“出门坐高铁，当天能来回；购物支付宝，方便扫一扫；最近一公里，单车可共享；聊天交朋友，微信真方便！”

        现在的李黑中文说得挺溜，但他刚开始学中文时也很痛苦。上课时，他要非常专心地听讲，抓住老师说的每个字，并且要努力理解它们的意思、用法。下课后，他背课文，每天抄写课文5遍，认识汉字。在汉语学习过程中，李黑渐渐读懂了中国，也渐渐爱上了中国。他说：“这一切就像唐代杜甫诗里写的那样：迟日江山丽，春风花草香。”

        “滴水之恩，当涌泉相报。”学习期间，李黑参加暑期社会实践、爱心义诊、义务支教，去帮助当地的村民量血糖、测血压、按摩、艾灸，还给一个村子的村支书当过助理。目前李黑在温州医科大学附属眼视光医院、浙江省眼科医院读研究生。李黑说，能够在这样一片热土上求学，是他今生最大的骄傲。