The YNU delegation poses for a photograph at the opening ceremony marking the 10th anniversary of the founding of Myanmar Fuqing School and Fuqing Confucius Classroom, on Nov 22. [Photo/ynu.eud.cn]

A delegation from Yunnan University (YNU) led by Zhang Li, the university’s vice-president, visited Myanmar to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the founding of Myanmar Fuqing School and Fuqing Confucius Classroom, from Nov 22 to 26.

The delegation attended a series of events to mark the anniversary, including three forums on politics and the economies of China and Myanmar, a picture exhibition showcasing the 10 years of development of the Confucius Classroom, a lecture tour and an artistic performance. 

More than 500 representatives including Wang Zongying, consul-general of China’s consulate-general in Mandalay, scholars and experts from both countries, Chinese nationals living in Myanmar, and representatives from local Chinese schools attended the opening ceremony for the anniversary celebration.

At the opening ceremony, Zhang delivered a keynote speech, in which he called for both sides to work together to build the China-Myanmar vocational school. Li Chenyang, director of the social sciences department of YNU, and Hu Jinming, dean of the School of International Rivers and Ecological Safety, delivered keynote reports during the lecture tour session. 

On Nov 23, the delegation took part in a meeting organized by China’s Ministry of Science and Technology. During the meeting, the ministry praised the efforts made by YNU and Mandalay University in building a joint laboratory. 

At an additional meeting held on Nov 24, Cai Jianing, deputy director at the international technology department of China’s Ministry of Science and Technology, expressed his appreciation of the work of both YNU and Mandalay University in promoting technical cooperation between the two countries. 

Cai also said that the Ministry of Science and Technology would continue its support for the two universities’ efforts to build a joint laboratory. 

During the delegation’s stay in Myanmar, they also called on the Provincial Government of Mandalay and the provincial assembly of the province. 

In order to accelerate the work of building the China-Myanmar vocational school, the YNU delegation also held a meeting with the Myanmar-China Friendship Association, Mandalay Myanmar-China Friendship Association and the Jin Taw Yan Buddhist Temple of Charitable Association to discuss issues related to the management system of the vocational school. 

On Nov 26, the delegation held the 2018 council meeting at Fuqing Confucius Classroom, which also marked the foundation of a Burmese training base for YNU’s School of Foreign Languages.

The Confucius Classroom has made remarkable achievements over the past 10 years. During the past decade, it has trained more than 18,000 participants and established 58 affiliates and 11 testing centers for HSK, a standardized Chinese language test.

The YNU delegation attends the 2018 council meeting of the Fuqing Confucius Classroom, Nov 26. [Photo.ynu.edu.cn]