On the afternoon of December 31^st, students and teachers from both NJU Nanjing-Helsinki Institute and Institute for International Students gathered at the campus’s Xiyuan Dining Hall and made dumplings together to bid farewell to 2023 and welcome the new year 2024. The event was hosted by counsellors Fu Qunshu, Zhou Mingfang and Shu Yi of Institute for International Students, and Dai Beiye of NJU Nanjing-Helsinki Institute.

At the beginning of the activity, Ms. Fu Qunshu organized the students to wash their hands and then sit down at different areas according to their nationalities and dietary patterns. Next, Ms. Dai Beiye distributed various kinds of tableware and kitchenware to the students. Afterwards, the canteen staff went to each table to help the students make dumplings with the Chinese flavour.

Teachers and students from different regions and countries made diverse shapes of dumplings with tremendous enthusiasm. Some dumplings were like shu mai (a sticky rice flour salty stuffed dumpling), while others like animals. These dumplings of all kinds somehow showcased the cultural creativity and inclusiveness of NJU teachers and students. When they finished making dumplings, every participant found their own way to record this exciting moment. Some asked their partners to take photos together, some showed their masterpieces to friends and families via online social media, and some even started a live streaming on the scene. While waiting for the dumplings to be cooked, international students from different countries extended their best wishes to their Chinese teachers and classmates.

The dumpling-making activity, themed at Bid Farewell to 2023 with New Year Reunion Dinner, came to an end with laughter and happiness. Dumplings as a traditional Chinese delicacy are closely related to a good harvest in agricultural societies and are therefore embodied the meaning of good luck. What’s more, since dumplings are shaped like Yuanbao (traditional Chinese currency), people eat them with the best wishes of making more money in the next year. Every time during traditional Chinese festivals, such as the New Year, the Dragon Boat Festival, the Mid-Autumn Festival, etc., NJU Institute for International Students  would organize activities alike to disseminate Chinese cultures and create a platform for international students and Chinese students to promote their relationships.

As the first Chinese-foreign cooperative educational institution of Nanjing University, NJU Nanjing-Helsinki Institute has always attached much importance to enhancing the cultural understanding of both students and teachers. Through organizing various cultural activities, we hope to promote communication and friendship between Chinese and international faculty members and students, to spread the fine quintessential traditional Chinese culture to the world, and to fully demonstrate the cultural self-confidence and the global vision of our students under the guidance of NJU’s policy, “To Build Stronger Cultural Confidence and to Tell True Stories about Nanjing University”. This year’s dumpling-making activity allowed the teachers and students from NJU Nanjing-Helsinki Institute and Institute for International Students to have more insights into the Chinese culture and helped strengthen their friendships. We believe, with this kind of strong bond, we will work together to create a bright future in the next new year.

文字：傅群舒、古欣轶、戴贝叶

英文：李嘉淇

图片：古欣轶 戴贝叶

排版：王哲

审核：崔紫荆