On March 15th, Wuhan University students were invited to participate in “Discover France”, one of the many activities to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Sino-French diplomatic ties. At the event, there was a photo exhibition on France’s southern scenery, culinary and wine sampling, lectures about studying in France and French movie appreciation, etc.
The photo exhibition, shown first at the Shanghai World Exposition, attracted many students with one student summing up the general sentiment: “all I knew is Eiffel Tower and Notre Dame de Paris. I didn’t expect so many historical towns in southern part of France.”
Aloïs GUILLAUME from Espace Campus France Chine in Wuhan explained “most of France’s famous universities are located in the north and Chinese students are more familiar with the north. Actually the southern part is even more beautiful”.
At the culinary exhibit, exquisite French desserts were placed in trays along with red and white wines. The attending staff introduced the basic rule that “red wine should go with the beef while white wine goes with chicken.” The exhibit was particularly popular because of the wonderful local flavors.
In the afternoon, Professor Xu Quanhua from the University of Franche-Comté and Wang Zhaozhong from the French National Scientific Research Center lectured on “France’s Mathematics Education and Research” and “Basic Research on Biolasers of China and France” respectively. The lectures gave students the opportunity to see a different France, one from an educational and scientific perspective.
In the study in France exhibit, staff from Espace Campus France Chine in Wuhan answered students’ questions and explained application procedures for French universities.
Executive President Feng Youmei in the opening ceremony explained the purpose of the event: an activity like “Discover France” serves as a platform to promote Sino-French cultural exchange and to strengthen friendship between the two peoples.
