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Chinese new year celebrations on Grand Paris campus
New Silk Road, a student association based at the Grand Paris campus, recently organised a great gala to celebrate the Lunar New Year. The association’s objective is to help students discover Chinese culture. Its current president Yaoyang He, a student in the MSc International Marketing and Business Development, hails from Chengdu, a city of 18 million inhabitants located in the south-east of China. In this interview, he tells us more about the gala.
Yaoyang, you recently organised the Spring Festival Gala with several students. Can you tell us about its significance?
The Spring Festival, which celebrates the new year, is an important festival in China. It is an event during which our whole family comes together to share a unique and festive moment. We wanted to organise it on campus to share our culture with all the students on campus and to open up. I think it's important to get out of one's social circle, "break the ice" to meet people and make new friends.
Which activities and customs did students discover during the gala?
The gala is a formal, traditional event, but the atmosphere is always pleasant. This year, we had a comedy show, talk show, singing, dancing, music, people dressed in traditional costumes, Chinese calligraphy demonstrations, etc. The whole gala was a great experience. The entire event was broadcast on the Lille and Sophia Antipolis campuses.
How do you feel about the organisation of the festival?
About 50 students were involved in the organisation of this beautiful event. I would like to thank all the students, who had been working on this project since September. Everyone put in a lot of effort to ensure its success.