Shanghai impressions shared by foreign students in speech competition
Sixteen university students from 12 countries, including China, the USA and Russia, shared their stories relating to Shanghai on Tuesday in the “My Impression, My Shanghai” speech competition to celebrate the 40th anniversary of China’s reform and opening-up policy.
In the competition, the foreign students needed to speak Chinese while Chinese students had to speak English.
Among the students, studying at 11 local universities, some told stories about changes in food, transportation, and cultural life in Shanghai over the past 40 years. Some talked about different impressions of Shanghai before and after their arrival, while others shared their experiences of traditional Chinese medicine.
Munisov Zarkamol, an Uzbek student at Shanghai University, and Makhsutuly Kaisar, from Kazakhstan and studying at East China Normal University, shared the first prize.
Zarkamol said his connection with China started 13 years ago as he became an actor at a theater and was to play the role of Zhang Qian, a famous Chinese ambassador who started the ancient Silk Road more than 2,000 years ago when he visited the countries of Central Asia on a diplomatic mission.
In order to play the part well, he began to research materials about Zhang.
“After overcoming bitterness and hardships, he came to Uzbekistan, sowing the seed of friendship and bridging cultural exchange,” he said in fluent Chinese. “Since then, I have been treating Zhang Qian as my role model and wish to become a new-generation ambassador of friendship between China and Uzbekistan.”
He came to seek a master’s degree in international relations at Shanghai University in 2016.
“Shanghai is well-known in my hometown for its rapid economic development, convenient rail transit and the Bund, featuring architecture of multiple styles,” he said. “Shanghai is such an inclusive international metropolis that it includes cultures of many, many countries. In the past hundred years, many foreigners have come here, bringing unique and exotic cultures, which have all been accepted by Shanghai.”
Zarkamol was elected as an ambassador of Uzbek students and president of the first 20 international student ambassadors in Shanghai University in July, a step closer to his “ambassador dream.”
He said he wished to bring the speed and convenience of Alipay back to his home country so that more Uzbek people can enjoy the fruits of China’s economic development. And he also saw opportunities at the recent China International Import Fair to introduce Uzbek technologies and tourism to China.
Kaisar first heard of Shanghai at a geography class when he was a child, arousing his curiosity to see whether the city was really flourishing.
He arrived in Shanghai at 2:30am two months ago, and when he set foot onto the streets and visited the Bund for the first time, he was shocked by the Shanghai Tower, the Oriental Pearl TV Tower, and the international architecture.
“After living here longer and longer, I came to realize the unique charm of Shanghai, with its long history in the shikumen lanes, its traditional breakfast and local lifestyle, with a combination of fashion and tradition, East and West, ancient and modern.”
“When seeing a Russian man talking with an old Shanghai lady in Shanghai dialect, I began to know that Shanghai is an international platform, where you can play as long as you dare to explore,” he said. “It made me think of my hometown Almaty, the largest city in Asia with more than 100 ethnic groups living together. Both Shanghai and Almaty respect multiple cultures and both China and Kazakhstan are seeking development in cooperation.”
“Chinese president Xi Jinping said at the China International Import Expo that Shanghai was an open, inclusive and innovative city,” he added. “It’s an opportunity and a challenge for us, the young people from all over the world, to develop with Shanghai.”
