BELGRADE, June 18, 2016 (Xinhua) -- Peng Liyuan (L, front), Chinese President Xi Jinping's wife, visits the elementary school Sava Jovanovic Sirogojno for children with disabilities, together with Dragica Nikolic, wife of Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic, in Belgrade, Serbia, June 18, 2016. (Xinhua/Ding Lin)
BELGRADE, June 18 (Xinhua) -- Peng Liyuan, Chinese President Xi Jinping's wife, met here Saturday morning with a group of students and teachers from the Sirogojno special education school.
Clapping to the music and sometimes giving a thumbs-up sign, Peng watched a dance performance of the students, most of whom are with mild and moderate intellectual disability or autism.
Together with Dragica Nikolic, Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic's wife, Peng also watched the students making handicrafts.
"You are amazing! It's so beautiful!" she encouraged the students.
Peng gave toy pandas and toy cars to the students, and received handicrafts the students had made as gifts.
"I must tell you a little secret of mine," Dragica told Peng. "I made my mind to open a special education school like this in Serbia after I had visited China and visited China's special education schools and services."
Peng spoke highly of the achievements the school has made in special education, expressing hopes that special education schools in China and Serbia could promote communication and exchanges so as to raise education quality.
After her visit to the special education school, Peng, accompanied by Dragica, came to the Jevremovac Botanical Garden, a unique natural asset situated in downtown Belgrade, dubbed "the lungs of the city" by local residents.
In the world-renowned garden, they jointly planted a Chinese dove tree, a species as rare as the giant panda.
Peng said she believed the tree will surely flourish just like the China-Serbia friendship.
Later, they paid a visit to a local tennis academy named after top-ranked Serbian netman Novak Djokovic.
"Xiao De (the Chinese pet name of Djokovic) has lots of fans in China," Peng told Djokovic's mother and other relatives.
Not only does he have consummate tennis skills, but also is full of patriotism, commented Peng, who also offered a special present to the academy: the Chinese version of Djokovic's autobiography.
