3rd Confucius Institute Headquarters Open Day held in Beijing

Madam Xu Lin, Chief Executive of Confucius Institute Headquarters and Director General of Hanban, delivering her speech at the event

On September 23rd, the third Confucius Institute Headquarters Open Day, themed “Culture Diversity on the Silk Road”, was held in Beijing. Over 300 people attended the event, including representatives of envoys from 44 foreign embassies and cultural institutions in China; delegates from such departments as State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council, General Administration of Sport of China, Beijing Municipal Education Commission, Beijing Xicheng District Committee and Xicheng District People’s Government, representatives of more than 40 Chinese partner universities of Confucius Institutes and of some enterprises supporting the development of Confucius Institutes as well as students on Confucius Institute Scholarships from over 60 countries.

Representatives of champions and coaches at the Rio Olympic Games, namely, Gong Jinjie, Liu Hong and Wang Haibin, attending the opening ceremony

At the opening ceremony, students from the Central Conservatory of Music staged fascinating performances with Chinese and Western musical instruments, including “Dunhuang” and “Like You and Me”. Madam Xu Lin, Chief Executive of Confucius Institute Headquarters and Director General of Hanban, delivered a welcome speech. Representatives of champions and coaches at the Rio Olympic Games, namely, Gong Jinjie, Liu Hong and Wang Haibin, shared their Olympic stories. Chen Huan, Chief Officer of Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), gave the keynote speech on the role and prospects of the AIIB.

Forum: Culture Diversity on the Silk Road

Following the welcome ceremony, ambassadors of such five countries as Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Pakistan in China conducted in-depth discussions on the theme of “Culture Diversity on the Silk Road” on the forum moderated by Mr. Michael Ackermann, Senior Consultant of the Confucius Institute Headquarters. The renowned scholar Wang Yiwei, a professor of Diplomacy of the School of International Studies at Renmin University of China, presided over the academic salon entitled “Silk Road and China’s Image”, which was attended by the noted Sinologist Ralph Kauz with Lian Yaming as his Chinese name, a professor at University of Bonn, Germany; Mandova Iskra, Bulgarian Director of Confucius Institute at St. Cyril and St. Methodius University of Veliko Turnovo; and Ammar, a doctoral student of Confucius China Studies Program from Egypt. In the meantime, a wide array of activities were held for the Chinese and foreign guests to deeply understand the Confucius Institutes and appreciate the beauty of Chinese culture, including the art exhibition entitled “Discovering the Paths---From Dunhuang to Iberian Peninsula”, Exhibition of Confucius Institute’s Achievements, International Chinese Language Teaching and Learning Resources Exhibition, China Exploratorium, Silk Road Gala, Traditional Chinese Medicine Clinic and Chinese Finger Food Experience.

In collaboration with NetEase News, the official website of the Confucius Institute Headquarters offered an interactive live broadcast on the Internet of the Open Day for the first time, attracting 150, 000 people at home and abroad to watch the event in real time and causing enthusiastic responses.

Academic Salon “Silk Road and China’s Image”

Art Exhibition “Discovering the Paths---From Dunhuang to Iberian Peninsula”

Traditional Chinese dance experience---Mongolian Bowl Dance

Silk Road Gala

To date, 507 Confucius Institutes, and 1,047 Confucius Classrooms in primary and secondary schools have been established in 139 countries and regions in the world, with up to over five million registered students. The various cultural activities conducted by the Confucius Institutes have attracted an audience of more than 60 million, achieving wide popularity among all peoples in the world.