2017 Bulgarian Cultural Festival kicked off at Shanghai Jiao Tong University in Xuhui Campus on July 14th. Huang Zhen, vice president of the University attended the opening ceremony and delivered his speech, and Kostadin Djatev, commercial counselor of Bulgarian Consulate General in Shanghai, You Chunping, chief inspector of Scientific Research Center of Bright Dairy Research Institute, Wang Nanming, curator of Shanghai Himalayas Museum, and teachers from School of Agriculture and Biology, Koguan School of Law, School of Foreign Languages, School of International and Public Affairs and International Exchange and Cooperation Department of Shanghai Jiao Tong University attended the event. More than 50 students from Shanghai Jiao Tong University and universities in Bulgaria participated in cultural festival. 

 

 

 

 

 

Huang Zhen pointed out that the cooperation between Shanghai Jiao Tong University and Bulgaria was long-standing and that the cultural festival was an important achievement of friendly exchanges between the two sides. Since the establishment of the Bulgaria Center of Shanghai Jiao Tong University, high-level officials from the two sides visit and exchange ideas with each other. In January this year, the First Bulgarian Center Strategic Seminar was held in Shanghai Jiao Tong University and Yanaki Stoilov, First vice-chairman of Bulgarian National Assembly was awarded as Honorary Professor. At present, Shanghai Jiao Tong University has signed cooperative agreements with the Sofia University, University of National and World Economy, Agricultural University of Plovdiv, the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Bulgarian Institute of Agricultural Economy, and so on. Huang Zhen says that the Bulgarian Center not only provides a platform for promoting the cooperation between Shanghai Jiao Tong University and Bulgarian first-class universities as well as scientific research institutions, but also lays a solid foundation for advancing exchanges in education, science and technology, and cultural exchange between the two countries. The Bulgarian Cultural Festival promotes the closer people-to-people ties between the two sides through cultural exchanges and mutual learning.

 

Kostadin Djatey described his studies, working and life experience in Shanghai, encouraged Bulgarian students to pursue advanced studies in Shanghai Jiao Tong University, and said that the official website of Bulgarian consulate general in Shanghai would provide information of Shanghai Jiao Tong University and other outstanding Chinese universities and colleges about educational exchange programs. You Chunping introduced briefly the historical origin of Bright Dairy's Momchilovtsi Milk with Bulgaria, and hoped that, in the near future, Bright Dairy would carry out cooperation with the Bulgarian Center in fields like personnel training, joint research and administrative training.
 

 

 

 

The Bulgarian students who attended the event were from Sofia University and University of National and World Economy. They are students in 2017 Bulgarian Summer Camp--SJTU Discovery: China. They brought splendid and exciting activities for the Cultural Festival, introduced the Bulgarian history, culture and tradition, launched a fun quiz about Bulgaria on the site, and sent gifts from afar to participants.

Wang Nanming, Hu Jiaxiang--professor of Koguan School of Law, Zhao Yiwei from Bulgarias Pavilion, and Chen Qiwen -- general manager of Bulgarian Rose Theme Pavilion made their speech respectively entitled From Tradition To Contemporary -- Shanghai Himalayas Museum's "Landscape Society" Exhibition, From Special Economic Zone to Free Trade Zone--not Only the Change of Name, Bulgaria through Chinese Eyes, and Bulgarian Rose Festival, conducting exchanges in the fields like art, economy and humanity between China and Bulgaria. On the site, Bulgarian rose red wine was also offered to the guests for tasting, experiencing first-hand a bite of Bulgaria. 

 

 

 

After the opening ceremony, students from Bulgaria and Shanghai Jiao Tong University visited the university history museum in Xuhui Campus and C.Y. Tung Maritime Museum. In the cultural exchange activities of between students in China and Bulgaria, students from Shanghai Jiao Tong University prepared for the erhu and flute performances. Bulgarian students were very eager to try to play Chinese traditional instruments. And under the guidance of students from Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Bulgarian students used the traditional Chinese calligraphy to write down the Chinese names they had learned in the courses of summer camp.  
Bulgaria, having established diplomatic relations with China for 68 years, serves as a country along "the Belt and Road Initiative". This cultural festival, sponsored by the Bulgaria Center of Shanghai Jiao Tong University, and strongly supported by Consulate General of the Republic of Bulgaria in Shanghai, displays abundant culture lectures, wine tasting and traditional cultural exchanges between China and Bulgaria. In addition, there is a series of activities of cultural festival, including rose culture exhibition in Minhang Campus, reporting exhibition for students from Bulgaria travelling to China, as well as cultural exchanges between China and Bulgaria in Shanghai Himalayas Museum. The cultural festival lays the public opinion foundation of "people-to-people ties", adheres to the concept of interactions and joint developments, and deepens youth exchanges between China and Bulgaria; lays the root for the scale of foreign student expansion and the implementation of joint cultivation.