February 4 is the Minor New Year in the Chinese lunar calendar. On this day, Tianjin University organized a series of celebrating activities for the teachers and students who stay put at school during the Spring Festival holiday.
A professional photography team was invited to the university and took New Year’s photos for students staying at school for three days. In a teaching building specially decorated to serve as a temporary photo studio, excited students were busying selecting the New Year’s style of Photo Props and folk costumes. Some chose huge and exquisite Chinese knots of blessings and golden Spring Festival scrolls reading "Happy New Year", while others posed in front of the camera with red lanterns in hand. Each participant would get a six-inch tall framed photo and a Spring Festival souvenir called "lucky bag".
“We enjoyed the activity very much. Its festive atmosphere brings us homely warmth,” said Hou Pandeng and Hou Gaofeng, a twin brothers who are both postgraduate students at the university’s School of Precision Instrument and Optoelectronics Engineering, “We look forward to spending a special Spring Festival at school. It will be an unforgettable memory for us two!”
For NZUEPAZE TIOUA NELLY ORNELLA from Cameroon, an undergraduate studying financial Management at Tianjin University, the most fascinating activity of the day was the culture exchange party where she learnt about Chinese Spring Festival traditions by firsthand experience. International students from 19 countries gathered together and learnt to write Spring Festival scrolls and make paper-cut for window decoration.
“You know what, an upside-down pasted Chinese character Fu (indicating blessings) means a bestowal of happiness! How interesting!” NZUEPAZE TIOUA NELLY ORNELLA claimed, adding that she had a deeper understanding of Chinese culture. She also expressed thanks to the School of International Education who organized the party.
The university’s six canteens across its two campuses prepared more than 300 Chinese traditional dishes for students to enjoy during lunch and supper time.
It’s learnt that to help students better spend the upcoming Spring Festival at school, Tianjin University plans to provide free meals and fruits on the Lunar New Year’s Eve.
By Eva Yin
