by Xie Ye
The University of Nottingham Ningbo China (UNNC) received a special group of guests on the morning of December 3rd, 2020. These guests are all members of the China Daily delegation, though with different skin colors and coming from different countries. Their visit to UNNC is a pivotal part of “Focus on Ningbo”, a Ningbo-themed reporting event joined by foreign media journalists.
“Focus on Ningbo” is an annual overseas publicity event coordinated by the Information Office of Ningbo Municipality. Since 2015, the office has painstakingly devised schemes of reporting and invited journalists from the mainstream media outside Chinese mainland to visit Ningbo and launch special editions as well as feature reports on their media platforms. This event has significantly helped Ningbo boost its foreign economic and cultural exchanges, and win higher recognition, visibility and reputation.
As the COVID-19 pandemic is still running rampant in other parts of the world, there are concerns of safety and health in inviting foreign journalists to visit Ningbo this year. The Information Office therefore took proactive steps by joining hands with China Daily and launching the 2020 “Focus on Ningbo” event from December 2nd to 5th.
“UNNC is the first Sino-foreign collaborative university to open its doors in China. We are in partnership with the University of Nottingham,” briefed in fluent English by Dr. Dong Hongbo, deputy Secretary of the Party Committee of UNNC, on the university and students’ life to the delegation. According to Dr. Dong, during the past 16 years since its establishment in 2004 , the university hosts its teachers and students from more than 60 countries and regions. Over 82% of undergraduate students have opted to further their study abroad while 26% have received offers from the world’s leading companies.
“I want to make it known to everyone that it’s amazing to study and live in Ningbo,” Dr.Dong told journalists. The delegation’s visit beckons a good scope for them to further showcase the university’s person-centered education philosophy and Ningbo’s achievements in education over the past years.
UNNC teachers also answered in English the questions that most concerned members of the reporting team. Amongst these questions are such issues as aspects of person-centered education, volunteer activities of students, and anti-COVID-19 measures adopted on the campus.
“I’ve visited many universities in China and this one has indeed deeply impressed me.” Mr. Miguel Roberg comes from the US and currently works as a marketing manager for China International Publishing Group (CIPG). He visited Ningbo this time as a delegation member and the UNNC’s business courses really caught him by surprise. “The university’s business studies are cutting-edge. Zhejiang has always been a legacy province of prosperous business, and Ningbo is burgeoning in its foreign trade; all these will surely do good for the university’s research and these courses would be a big draw for more people.”
“I’ve just asked the foreign professors if they’re used to living in Ningbo. They feel fine,” said Ms. Yang Chunya, director of the China Daily News Development Centre. To her, Ningbo is a big city in line with Shanghai and Guangzhou; its people are very friendly and the city is very well planned as well as comfortable, making it a good place to work and live. Ms. Yang further added， “The professors told me that all the foreign faculty have a passion for this city, for its delicious food, local civilization and rich culture.”
On December 2nd, the delegation went to Ninghai County (subordinate to Ningbo Municipality) to comprehend its art-based rural revitalization strategy while the following day they visited UNNC and Wenchuang Port (for cultural and creativity industries) to learn more about the current situation of humanities education in Ningbo. And for the last two days, they would visit the ancient Yue Kiln in the heritage site at Shanglin Lake and make tangyuan (glutinous rice balls) in Nantang Old Street. Upon hearing these, the group members are all full of curiosity.
“Chinese porcelain is very exquisite. I want to see how they are made at the Yue Kiln site tomorrow.” Mukesh Mohanan comes from India and currently works as a graphic designer for China Daily. He deems design as a pursuit of beauty for its own sake and the beauty of Chinese porcelain as a must to appreciate.
“I really look forward to visiting some old streets in Ningbo in the next few days.” Eva Katuscakova is from the Czech Republic and works as a contributing writer for China Daily. She is keen on city history and people’s living environment. “Ningbo is very attractive,” she said. “Its well-done greenery allows comfortable breathing, and that’s crucial for citizens."
The nine members of this delegation are foreign online influencers, special contributors and new media reporters from China Daily. It is planned to roll out their reports about Ningbo’s cultural and historical beauty on omnimedia and overseas social media accounts of China Daily as well as on the individual social media accounts of foreign online influencers.
With special thanks to Faculty of Foreign Languages, NBU.
媒体链接：http://daily.cnnb.com.cn/nbwb/html/2020-12/07/content_1249312.htm?div=-1