“In celebration of the new partnership to come to Akron, the university held a Chinese culture event at E.J. Thomas hall Monday evening. The event was a display for University of Akron students and for the community of the culture and UA’s companion Henan University.”
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In celebration of the new partnership to come to Akron, the university held a Chinese culture event at E.J. Thomas hall Monday evening.
The event was a display for University of Akron students and for the community of the culture and UA’s companion Henan University.
Performances of the Lion dance, Chinese fan & Tai Chi dance, peacock dance and music were performed by local studios and musicians.
Dr. Young Lin, associate professor of communication and director of the Confucius Institute, was in attendance.
This is very important, very significant, Lin said about the institute.
He said that Henan University is located in the most populated areas in China and UA is the first to associate with the area.
In January two professors from Henan University will arrive in Akron to begin teaching both students and members of the community about the Chinese culture.
This will take Chinese learning to a new level, he said.
Booths were set up along the stage walls. Everything from a dragon boat to Chinese paper folding were on display for the 700 people in attendance.
Can you do that, one guy asked his friend.
Children sat on their parent’s shoulders while others stood on their tip toes in order to get a peek at the events taking place.
People could not get far without hearing Ni hao, which is hello in Chinese.
While there were numerous faculty and staff in attendance from the university, the amount of members from the community seemed to outnumber those from the university.
President Luis Proenza extended an invitation to the surrounding UA community.
We hoped for 300 and we have 700 already here, Proenza said. He said his hope for this institute was that it would bring awareness to the history and culture of the Chinese people.
Director of International programs David Ayers was in attendance. Ayers has been one of the key people to put this institute in place.
I feel a little overwhelmed, he said about the turnout, saying that the amount of interest shows that the community and the university is interested in the culture.
He said that the classes will be offered to both UA students and the surrounding members of the community that are interested. There will also be a presence in the local schools as they plan to have presentations in K-12 classes Ayers said.
One thing he proceeded to point out was that the demand for Chinese classes is growing, saying that he remembered when there were no students signed up for the class and now there are almost 60 students.
This was the final event for the day after delegates from China had spent the day on campus with President Proenza, in which they attended a luncheon earlier in the afternoon.
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” #1.1360707:1789373135.jpg:crowd_color-edit.jpg:The university displayed a Chinese dragon for the 700 guests that attended the event. Delegates from Henan University arrived later thanking UA for their hospitality.:Steve Lidbauch”