Source: School of Foreign Languages
Written by: Gao Hongyao
Translated by: Li Shouyi
Proofread by: Liang Jianxin
Edited by: Wang Dongmei

On December 19-21, 2015, organized by the Department of Chinese as a Second Language at School of Foreign Languages (FLS), Sun Yat-sen University (SYSU), international students of the Chinese Language Undergraduate Program participated in the field practice in Meizhou, Guangdong province. The activity witnessed the participation of 68 international students from 19 countries, including Korea, France, Russia, Algeria, etc, and has drawn the attention of local media with Meizhou Daily reporting the event.

During the three-day field practice, the international students had a friendly football match with the pupils at R&F Soccer School, learned about the achievements of Ye Jianying at the Ye Jianying Memorial Park, watched a tea ceremony at the Yannanfei Tea Plantation Resort, and visited Hakka walled village, Qiaoxi Village, Yanming Lake and Lingguang Temple. The Moldavian student Zaru Andrei Pin expressed his willingness to share the wonderful experience in Meizhou with his family and friends; the Armenian student Lusine Stepanyan commented that she gained a better understanding of China thanks to the field practice in Meizhou; Rattanapanangsakul Wachiravid, the Thai student, showed a keen interest in Hakka architecture and expressed the wish that the great Hakka buildings could be well preserved.
On December 21, faculty members and international students from FLS had a meeting with the Administrative Committee of Meizhou Cultural Tourism Zone. Mr. Xie Xiaokang, the deputy director of the Administrative Committee, attended the meeting and had an in-depth communication with the international students. The students gave suggestions on the design of tourism products, the improvement of tourism service facilities as well as the utilization of advertising platforms to accelerate the international promotion of Meizhou as a Cittaslow town.
The field practice is the major activity of the FLS program “The International Promotion of Meizhou as a Cittaslow Town”, which is supported by the Teaching Affairs Office of SYSU. The program aims to improve international students’ practical language abilities and intercultural communication skills, and to provide intellectual support for Meizhou’s international tourism development.