Foreign Teachers’ Cultural Visit to Zhouzhuang Water Town organized By Foreign Affairs Office

April 22^nd , in order toexperience the Chinese culture, a visit for all the foreign teachers in our universitywas organized by the Foreign Affairs to the renowned Zhouzhuang, which is knownas "China'sfirst water town".

Tourists lingered around the ancient towninflamed by vernal scenery of late spring, with little rowboats drifted acrossthe canal. Listening to the warm and soft local language and following the oldfootprints of the formal local tycoons, the foreign teachers strolled thestreets and stopped by lines of unique architectural landscape created by the thousand-yearhistory and its rich culture, which they enthusiastically captured with camerasin their hands.

Walking in the former residence of Shen Wansan,foreign teachers have expressed their admiration for this famous merchant inthe Qing dynasty who also came from Huzhou. Born in HuzhouNanxunTown,Shen Wansan took half his life to be the richest man in Southern China through international trades and also became one of the pioneersof international exchange back in his age. Mr. Matsushita, a foreign teacherfrom Japan who has won the"Westlake friendship Award" of ZhejiangProvince, was drawn to Shen's story and enthusiasticallyasked for details about Shen's business experience and anecdotes. Other teachersalso spoke highly of Shen’s business acumen and courage of going abroad, andhoping to work by his example and bring their knowledge and culture into China for thebenefit of educational exchange in this new era.

While visiting the ancient town, the teacherswho have been gradually familiar with Chinese language and culture also triedtheir best to communicate with local residents. Listening to the story-tellingof Zhouzhuang from tour guide, making a bargain for interested souvenirs andlocal snacks from local merchant ...... They all said that the experience ofworking and living in HuzhouUniversity has made them fall in love with Chineseculture, and they all hope to become a real "China hand" in the nearfuture.

This cultural visit not only demonstratesan affirmation and concern of our university for all foreign teachers’ work,but also succeeds in deepening the foreign teachers’ understanding of Chinesecultural, and altogether helps to further promote international solidarity.