Fifty international students from 13 countries of Bangladesh, Nepal, Afghanistan, Yemen, Laos, Zimbabwe and others recently attended training courses on floriculture and tea art in Kunming, Yunnan province, in a bid to know more about local culture and China at large.

Dipping into Chinese culture

Zhao Zhuowen, who is from Bangladesh, has studied in China for over 2 years. He loves everything in Yunnan. He hoped to learn more about Yunnan through joining in this floriculture course. He said that this training gave him an opportunity to work in Kunming's Dounan Flower Market, which turned out to be a great success.

Having zest in Chinese culture, Bai Tian, a student from Uzbekistan, has lived and studied in China for 3 years. When he first came to China, Bai was exposed to the Chinese tea art in courses offered by the school. “I believe I can make a cup of authentic Chinese tea after this course,” said Bai. 

Cultural exchanges in depth 

This training sessions involved parts of theory, practices and visits. It is hoped that students could grasp the spirit of Chinese tea culture and further understanding the tea table manners via communicating with each other.

Although the students come from different countries and have different cultural identities, they share a common quest for beauty. The international trainees are encouraged to add the elements of their hometowns to their floral works, so that different civilizations show their distinct beauties. 

The training enhanced the students' understanding to China and Yunnan, rendering in them a sense of identity with Chinese culture. “We hope that the cultural gap between students and China will be further reduced through this year’s training,” said the organizer. “In the future, we believe that they will become envoys of friendship between China and their home countries. 

Skills for future careers

In the tea art course that focused on the application of floriculture in various business scenarios such as hotels and exhibitions, the participants studied the whole process in detail. The floriculture training features practical skills that will help in their future career development.

At the end of August last year, the China (Yunnan) Pilot Free Trade Zone was inaugurated. The pilot zone needs a large number of high-end talents. Recently, more training projects were set up in Kunming to cultivate talents for the pilot free trade zone. 

The vocational training is offered by Kunming Human Resources and Social Security Bureau, which has more plans to train professional talents for South and Southeast Asian countries.

Reporting by Liu Ziyu, Li Hengqiang and Yang Xi; trans-editing by Wang Shixue and Yuan Yingcen