After the close of the 2016 “Graceful Donghu” International Universities Rowing Regatta, the Luojia Mountain was delighted to welcome several participating teams of the regatta -- University of Cambridge，University of London and Xi`an Jiaotong University on July 19th.
It was a nice and cool morning with fine drizzle. The first destination of the visit was the Historic Museum of WHU on the top of Lion Hill. The visitors took campus buses to the foot of the hill and started climbing. Before entering the museum, they had already been amazed by this grand building and the gorgeous panorama of WHU. Ficip Coubicic, an economic undergraduate from University of London, was particularly excited. “ It’s so cool that you can take buses and climb hills on campus, while it takes only an hour to walk anywhere in my university,” he said. “It’s really amazing.”
Students of Wuhan University and University of Cambridge
The Historic Museum is not only a scenic spot but also an institution as it used to be the library of WHU. There’s a lecture hall on the first floor, where many professors, political elites and other famous people have come to deliver speeches. On July 19th when all those foreign students came to visit, those lectures were replaced by an publicity film of WHU.
The lecture hall
The balcony on the top floor of the museum is the best viewpoint to overlook the whole campus. Various photographs, documents and commemorative medals are exhibited on the other floors, which seem to be telling stories of WHU nonverbally. Together with the introduction of the interpreter, a scroll of WHU’s history over 120 years is unfolded little by little. Most visitors were following the guidance of the interpreter, while some others were wandering on their own using a translation app on their phones. “I downloaded this app before setting out for China,” one of the students said. “When I scan the documents through this app, all the Chinese characters will turn into English on the screen so it can help me get an insight of China during the journey.”
The visitors are listening to the interpreter
After taking a group photo outside the museum, the students moved on to the next destination -- the Administrative Building. This building used to be a laboratory because of its excellent lighting and ventilation conditions. The color of the roof outside the building is peacock blue, a very special kind of blue which is the secondary royal color in the Qing Dynasty. On entering the building, the visitors’ eyeballs were caught by the square transparent vault, through which daylight penetrates to the far corners of the building. According to the interpreter, light gets through the outer roof through a gap between the inner and the outer roof, which is invisible for people at a long distance that people will think there is only one roof. All of a sudden, three kids appeared on the spot. They are Grade-four students from the No.1 Primary Boarding School in Wuhan. “I have come to WHU for several times but this time is extremely special and unforgettable for me,” one of the kids told us. Another kid added, “I feel a thrill of pride as a foreign student asks me to translate for him when he wants to buy souvenirs.”
The children are chatting with the foreign student
The last part of the visit was to experience activities held by WHU students’ associations in Songqing Gymnasium. Present there were Flute Association, Martial Arts Association and Painting and Calligraphy Association. Some of them were playing bamboo flute, some were performing Chinese martial arts and others were preparing paper, ink, and Chinese writing brush. These activities with defining Chinese characteristics attracted those foreign students and they all wanted to have a try. Under the guidance of students from the associations, some foreign students did a really good job. They said although these were difficult skills, they were still willing to learn if possible. David Nelson, an economic Ph.D. candidate from University of Cambridge, said, “This is my first time to come to Wuhan. It’s really a city of wonders to have East Lake and such a beautiful university like WHU.”
Foreign student is playing the bamboo flute
According to Wang Tao, Vice-President of Student Association Instruction Center of WHU (in short of WHUAC), the whole event of rowing regatta was organized by the General Administration of Sports of the central and Wuhan governments. As the contestant and also a local university, WHU is undoubtedly an important part of the regatta. And that is why WHUAC arranged for this visit especially.
Student are learning Chinese calligraphy.
This regatta is not only a competition but also a bridge between universities around the world. There is no escaping recognition that no language is more general than sports. All participants can communicate freely regardless of their nationality, race or belief. And we hope this kind of language will speak louder in the years to come.
（Edited by Song Zihan, Zhang Ran & Hu Sijia）
