On February 14th, CCTV News featured a special report on global Lantern Festival celebrations, with a special focus on the participation of faculty and students from the NPU Kazakhstan branch campus in the “Warmly Welcoming Spring, Celebrating the Chinese New Year” Lantern Festival, hosted by the Consulate General of China in Almaty. As one of the highlights in CCTV’s coverage, the cultural interactions and enthusiastic performances of our faculty and students vividly showcased the profound friendship of Sino-Kazakh cultural exchanges and highlighted the fruitful achievements of our university’s internationalization efforts.
On February 11th, the Abai Opera House in Almaty was brilliantly lit, with a strong festive atmosphere. At the invitation of the Consulate General of China in Almaty, Professor Zhang Xiao from the School of Computer Science at NPU led nine students from the Kazakhstan branch campus to join nearly 600 guests, including the Consul General of China in Almaty, Kazakh officials, local Chinese expatriates, representatives from Chinese-funded institutions, international students, and other friends from all walks of life, to celebrate the festival together.
Faculty and students from the Kazakhstan branch campus actively participated in various activities, wearing traditional Hanfu, playing the pot-throwing game, and holding lanterns. At the food exhibition stage, they tasted Chinese delicacies such as Xinjiang beef jerky and Shaanxi Qiong pot candy. At the cultural exhibition stage, they took part in activities like Chinese chess, calligraphy, and face painting, immersing themselves in the rich experience of Chinese culture.
In the “China Travel” puzzle activity, students learned about China’s administrative divisions and famous landmarks through puzzles. They expressed that this activity gave them a more intuitive understanding of China and increased their excitement and anticipation for studying and living in Xi’an in the future.
Students from the Kazakhstan branch campus expressed that this event was both heartwarming and enjoyable, allowing them to fully appreciate the unique charm of Chinese culture. In the future, they will continue to work hard to learn Chinese and explore Chinese culture, contributing their efforts to promoting cultural exchange and cooperation between China and Kazakhstan, as well as advancing the development of Sino-Kazakh relations.
Source: International College
Translator: Mei Leiyun
