On the morning of October 25, the 12th China University of Mining and Technology (CUMT) International Cultural Festival opened at the Youth Square of the Nanhu Campus. Qin Botao, Vice President, heads of international colleges from universities in Xuzhou including Jiangsu Normal University, Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou University of Technology, and Jiangsu Vocational Institute of Architectural Technology, as well as heads of relevant functional departments of CUMT, attended the opening ceremony.
At the opening ceremony, Qin Botao declared the 12th International Cultural Festival open. Li Honghai, Dean of the International College and Director of the International Student Management Office, delivered the opening speech on behalf of the organizers.
With the theme “One World, One Family, Shared Joy,” this year’s festival presented a cross-cultural feast that brought together static displays and dynamic performances through immersive country booths and diverse stage shows, attracting more than 10,000 Chinese and international faculty and students.
In the national booth area, forty country booths formed a world cultural corridor that was bustling with crowds and a warm atmosphere. Through traditional costumes, handicrafts, specialty foods, and interactive games, the booths vividly presented the customs and cultural landscapes of various countries, showcasing a vivid picture of diverse civilizations with their own unique characteristics. The Chinese booths featured special projects such as sugar figurines, bird-and-flower painting, dough figurines, and Luomo Sanzi (local traditional food), where intangible cultural heritage transmitters demonstrated their exquisite skills on-site, attracting many Chinese and international teachers and students to stop and experience. Chinese and foreign cultures blended and dialogued among the booths. Many students held customized “commemorative passports” and traveled between the booths, completing a cross-cultural journey without leaving campus through the dual experience of taste buds and vision.
On the stage, the warm-up interaction “Journey to the West: Return of the Scriptures” ignited the atmosphere first, followed by Chinese and international students singing “We Are The World” together, conveying the warmth of “we are one family” through their voices. The Russian dance “Folk Pulse” showcased the Eurasian ethnic charm with its bold rhythm; the Vietnamese dance “The Motherland in My Heart,” recommended by Jiangsu Normal University, expressed patriotic sentiments with graceful postures; Moroccan song and dance “Moroccan Traditions,” Indonesian dance “Indonesia Nusantara,” and Bangladeshi dance “Echoes of Bengal” were performed successively, linking a flowing map of world culture with their distinctive body language and presenting the cultural landscapes of different regions. Chinese dances “Listening to the Night Rain” and “Time,” along with the modern dance “Access The Signature Layer Custom,” were interspersed, highlighting the beauty of integration of “each beauty has its own beauty, and all beauties together create shared beauty” in the dialogue between art from both sides. The Chinese-Thai song and dance medley pushed the atmosphere to a climax, with applause and cheers rising and falling.
Since its first edition in 2013, the CUMT International Cultural Festival has been held for more than ten years, becoming a multicultural integration platform that “brings the world into CUMT and CUMT to the world.” After the opening ceremony, a series of activities including a Chinese poetry recitation competition and a Chinese song competition will be launched successively, extending the heat of cultural exchange from the square to the classroom and daily life, continuing until the end of the year.
