Vocational School of Justice
SILK ROAD FROM IZMIR TO CHINA
The Silk Road is coming to life again with the cultural transmission. Izmir Economics students, who chose Chinese as a second foreign language, became acquainted with Chinese culture. Liu Zeng Xian, the Consul General, and Ni Xiao Jin, the Vice Consul General of the People’s Republic of China in Izmir, the Rector Prof. Dr. Can Muğan, Asst. Prof. Dr. Evrim Üstünlüoğlu, Director of IUE School of Foreign Languages, Prof. Dr. Filiz Başkan, Rector’s Consultant and Head of Department of Political Science and International Relations, and students taking Chinese class attended the cultural event at Ege Restaurant which was organized by IUE Chinese Culture Club.
During the event, the vice Consul General Mr. Ni Xiaojing gave an insightful presentation on Chinese culture and festivals. Students of IUE Department of Culinary Arts and Management prepared a menu of traditional Chinese dishes. Students led by Yuan Peng, IEU’s Chinese Language Coordinator, entertained the guests with Chinese pop songs and traditional fan dances.
Rector Prof. Dr. Can Muğan said China was a rising value, and collaboration with China was increasing each passing day. The Rector said, “Izmir might be a door to Europe for China. We met Chinese students who learn Turkish at Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences in China. 40 students are learning Chinese at IUE. This mutual learning of languages plays an important role in the meeting of cultures”. Prof. Dr. Muğan pointed out the importance of Izmir in terms of solar and wind energy and logistics.
‘Confucius Research Center Coming Soon’
Prof. Dr. Muğan, who said that she believed extend of education would increase the number of collaborations, stated the following:
“I believe that cultural and political collaborations will increase as economic collaborations increase on the New Silk Road. Chinese, offered as a second foreign language at the University, is getting more popular each day. 3 of our students received a scholarship as part of summer camps and cultural ambassador programs in collaboration with Consulate General of the People’s Republic of China in Ankara and Shanghai University. IUE Chinese Culture Club helps bring the two cultures together. We will be laying the foundation for Confucius Research Center in the coming days. In this way, relations between the two countries will get stronger.”