A Myanmar teenager draws a painting of panda

As the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor moves forward, a renewed focus on the Belt and Road Initiative by both China and Myanmar will unfold.

Located at the bank of the Irrawaddy, Mandalay is the important political, economic and cultural center of Myanmar. On December 3 and 4, Panda Chengdu in Mandalay, organized by Chengdu Municipal Foreign and Overseas Chinese Affairs Office, held a cultural show for local teenagers. It also introduced students of Fuqing Confucius Institute to Chinese culture and the charm of the unique culture of Chengdu.

With increasing contact between China and Myanmar, learning Chinese culture has become popular. A photo exhibition, especially of pandas, world-renowned Du Jiangyan Irrigation Project, the mouth-watering food and advanced city construction attracted many visitors.

“Puppet show was very interesting, and I have never seen this kind of Chinese culture before.” Tang Xingsheng, who watched the puppet show, said. He said he has been learning Chinese for 10 years and CCTV is his favorite channel as he learns a lot about distinctive cultures in different regions in China, particularly the hometown of panda, Chengdu. “Now I’m in grade three in middle school. And I am eager to study in China and to see pandas in Chengdu.”

“Taiji was very attractive,” Ming Dewei, freshman in a university, said while exercising with the teacher. “I have been learning Chinese for about six months, and I am very interested in Chinese culture. Thanks to this cultural communication activity, it let me know many stories of Chengdu. And I hope there will be more activities like this in the future.”

“For Panda Chengdu in Mandalay, we have selected great teachers in Chengdu for teaching teenagers here. This has never happened before,” said the president of China-Myanmar Friendship Association. He also said that this cultural communication provides precious opportunities for understanding traditional culture and Chengdu culture. And it will strengthen the friendship between China and Myanmar further and pass the friendly connection down to the young generation. Meanwhile, he hoped that China and Mandalay will enhance communication and cooperation, promoting the cause of China-Myanmar through joint efforts.

Huangpeng, the vice-chairman of China-Myanmar Friendship Association, president of Mandalay Fuqing Confucius Institute, said various performances immersed the students in Fuqing Confucius Institute to more Chinese traditional cultural knowledge. He said Fuqing Confucius Institute is the first Confucius Institute in Myanmar and there are 58 teaching locations outside school, cultivating a number of local students. He said that he hoped students would work hard and make great contributions to the construction of China-Myanmar Economic Corridor of Belt and Road Initiative.

The officials of Chengdu Municipal Foreign and Overseas Chinese Affairs Office said they hoped this program can raise the interest of local teenagers of learning Chinese and lay solid foundation for further cultural communication between two countries.

Panda Chengdu in World is a foreign cultural exchanges program organized by Chengdu Municipal Foreign and Overseas Chinese Affairs Office. It has been held in more than 20 countries, mainly the countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative. Through introducing Chinese knowledges to local teenagers, their understanding of China and of Chengdu would be deepened.