Egyptian students taste Chinese tea during a ceremony to celebrate Chinese Language Day in Cairo, Egypt, April 27, 2024. Students studying in Egyptian colleges celebrated Saturday the United Nations Chinese Language Day with a themed event featuring a concert, food and tea tasting, sketch comedy, and art show. (Xinhua/Ahmed Gomaa)

Students studying in Egyptian colleges celebrated Saturday the United Nations Chinese Language Day with a themed event featuring a concert, food and tea tasting, sketch comedy, and art show.

At the event, a traditional orchestra from Nanjing University in southeastern China played melodic music such as "Jasmine" and "Birds Greeting the Phoenix," receiving a thundering ovation from enthusiastic audiences.

Li Zhiru, an erhu player at the band who majors in electronic engineering, said he was proud and excited to perform in Egypt and was glad to see the local audience enjoyed the show.

The event was held at the Egyptian Chinese University (ECU) in Cairo, with the participation of students and faculty members of universities from the two countries, Arab League representatives, Egyptian officials, and Chinese diplomats.

Later, about 20 Egyptian students and Chinese teachers wowed the attendees with a choral song about family ties and connection.

Eman El-Sayed, an Egyptian student at Cairo-based Ain Shams University said it's a great pleasure to take part in the event, which offers "many activities, including singing, acting, and many other performances."

"I decided to study Chinese because China is a big country with a strong economy and a nice culture and learning Chinese provides many job opportunities in Egypt," she noted.

Ahmed El-Sewy, who performs a sketch comedy in Chinese, suggested language learners put what they get from books into good use, spend more time interacting with people, and try out a lot of cultural activities.

Hu Die, a Chinese teacher at the Confucius Institute at Ain Shams University, said that it is a great honor to introduce Chinese to more people and see them get interested in the language, adding the number of Egyptian students in Chinese is on the rise.

Addressing the event, Lu Chunsheng, minister counselor at the Chinese Embassy in Egypt, said that with the Chinese language as a medium, "we will promote common prosperity between China and Egypt, advance China-Arab ties, and deepen exchanges and mutual learning between civilizations."

For her part, ECU president Rasha El-Kholy said that the university has set Chinese as a mandatory course and the number of students enrolling in the schools continues to rise.

"The Chinese language is not just a language to study, but it is a language with a very large history and civilization. It connects many peoples and symbolizes civilization, and it is currently linked to technology and progress," the ECU president told Xinhua.

The UN observes the Chinese Language Day on April 20 annually to promote multilingualism, cultural diversity, and the use of Chinese as one of the organization's six official languages.