Chinese culture ignites Estonian youth's "Chinese Dream"
                 Source: Xinhua | 2017-01-29 02:24:01 | Editor: huaxia

People perform dragon dance in a Chinese Lunar New Year celebration event organized by the Confucius Institute of Tallinn University inTallinn, Estonia, on Jan. 27, 2017. (Xinhua/Guo Chunju)

TALLINN, Jan. 28 (Xinhua) -- For 15-year-old Estonian Edith Merila, visiting China someday is her "Chinese Dream" as she likes Chinese culture, especially the dragon dance she performed with boys at a Chinese New Year party on Friday.

Edith was the only girl among the total of eight dragon dance performers of the Estonian Sports and Traditional Wushu Federation at the Chinese New Year celebration event.

"I enjoy myself in learning dragon dance, and prefer dragon dance to the piano or other western musical instruments," Merila told Xinhua.

Performing for the first time before a large audience after just one month of practice, Merila seemed to be satisfied with her performance, saying the practice of dragon dance was beneficial to her health and fitness.

Organized by the Confucius Institute of Tallinn University, the Chinese New Year celebration event falls on the eve of the Chinese Year of the Rooster, and is a very special Chinese national festival time, much like Western countries' Christmas Eve, said Lin Hang, counsellor of the Chinese Embassy in Estonia.

Zhang Daqiu, the Chinese director of the Confucius Institute of Tallinn University, delivered a lecture on the meaning of "Rooster" and its Chinese character, encouraging the audience to say "Happy Year of the Rooster" and "Ji Nian Kuai Le" in Chinese.

"I think Estonians are very interested in the Chinese culture, especially such events that we don't have here, like the dragon dance, the Chinese spring festival. Chinese food is definitely very famous in Estonia," said Katjia Koort, executive director of the Confucius Institute.

Koort expressed her belief that the ancient Chinese culture and Estonian culture had "something that we can share, and something that is very different so we can learn."

The attractiveness of Chinese culture is increasing among Estonians, and the number of people who are learning Chinese is rising, according to Koort, who highlighted the role of the Confucius Institute in bringing Chinese culture to Estonia.

As a matter of fact, Merila is not the only Estonian youth who has a "Chinese Dream", 20-year-old Carl Patrick, who goes by the Chinese name "Ka Pai", hopes to work hard enough to afford to visit China.

As a student at Tallinn University, Patrick, who can speak a certain amount of Chinese after learning the language at the Confucius Institute, was present at the Chinese New Year party and also the Week of Chinese Films in Tallinn from Jan. 23 to Jan. 25.

A series of events are being held to familiarize local Estonians with the Chinese culture, including Week of China in Viljandi, southern Estonia from Jan. 23 to 27, to showcase martial arts, Chinese movies, Chinese traditional music, cultural heritage, exhibitions on the Silk Road among others.

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Chinese culture ignites Estonian youth's "Chinese Dream"

Source: Xinhua 2017-01-29 02:24:01

People perform dragon dance in a Chinese Lunar New Year celebration event organized by the Confucius Institute of Tallinn University inTallinn, Estonia, on Jan. 27, 2017. (Xinhua/Guo Chunju)

TALLINN, Jan. 28 (Xinhua) -- For 15-year-old Estonian Edith Merila, visiting China someday is her "Chinese Dream" as she likes Chinese culture, especially the dragon dance she performed with boys at a Chinese New Year party on Friday.

Edith was the only girl among the total of eight dragon dance performers of the Estonian Sports and Traditional Wushu Federation at the Chinese New Year celebration event.

"I enjoy myself in learning dragon dance, and prefer dragon dance to the piano or other western musical instruments," Merila told Xinhua.

Performing for the first time before a large audience after just one month of practice, Merila seemed to be satisfied with her performance, saying the practice of dragon dance was beneficial to her health and fitness.

Organized by the Confucius Institute of Tallinn University, the Chinese New Year celebration event falls on the eve of the Chinese Year of the Rooster, and is a very special Chinese national festival time, much like Western countries' Christmas Eve, said Lin Hang, counsellor of the Chinese Embassy in Estonia.

Zhang Daqiu, the Chinese director of the Confucius Institute of Tallinn University, delivered a lecture on the meaning of "Rooster" and its Chinese character, encouraging the audience to say "Happy Year of the Rooster" and "Ji Nian Kuai Le" in Chinese.

"I think Estonians are very interested in the Chinese culture, especially such events that we don't have here, like the dragon dance, the Chinese spring festival. Chinese food is definitely very famous in Estonia," said Katjia Koort, executive director of the Confucius Institute.

Koort expressed her belief that the ancient Chinese culture and Estonian culture had "something that we can share, and something that is very different so we can learn."

The attractiveness of Chinese culture is increasing among Estonians, and the number of people who are learning Chinese is rising, according to Koort, who highlighted the role of the Confucius Institute in bringing Chinese culture to Estonia.

As a matter of fact, Merila is not the only Estonian youth who has a "Chinese Dream", 20-year-old Carl Patrick, who goes by the Chinese name "Ka Pai", hopes to work hard enough to afford to visit China.

As a student at Tallinn University, Patrick, who can speak a certain amount of Chinese after learning the language at the Confucius Institute, was present at the Chinese New Year party and also the Week of Chinese Films in Tallinn from Jan. 23 to Jan. 25.

A series of events are being held to familiarize local Estonians with the Chinese culture, including Week of China in Viljandi, southern Estonia from Jan. 23 to 27, to showcase martial arts, Chinese movies, Chinese traditional music, cultural heritage, exhibitions on the Silk Road among others.

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