Blaze Kasumi

With "Hello! China" is a bus running down the street.

At the "International Cultural Festival" of Birkirkara Primary School, students are watching a lion dance.

Students from the Confucius Institute at the University of Malta are reciting "Facing the Sea, Spring Blossoms".

Chisk Elementary School students demonstrate their ink-blowing paintings. Photo courtesy of the interviewee (All photos in this article are courtesy of the Confucius Institute at the University of Malta, except for the signature)

In Malta, known as the "Shining Pearl of the Mediterranean", more and more locals are falling in love with Chinese culture from campuses, communities, businesses to the streets, weaving a vivid picture of cultural exchange.

Meet Chinese on campus

At the "International Cultural Festival" held at Paula Primary School in the southeast of Malta and Birkirkara Primary School in the center, the Chinese element booth attracted a large number of visitors. The crispy fragrance of fried spring rolls and the medicinal fragrance of traditional Chinese medicine sachets are intertwined, and the panda pattern tea set and the "boy holding fish" New Year painting rush into view; The students in front of the booth were wearing Peking Opera masks or holding a ...... It vividly shows the richness and diversity of Chinese culture.

Let's set our eyes on the field of Paula Primary School, the "Chinese Lion" soared into the air, the dragon body was winding like a rainbow, the drum beat was sonorous and powerful, and the children's exclamations resounded throughout the field: "Can it really jump?" The applause from the audience was loud and enthusiastic, and many people took out their mobile phones to capture this wonderful moment and feel the charm of traditional Chinese art.

In the class at Chisk Primary School, the art teacher takes the students to draw plum blossoms using the ink-blowing method. "Blow gently, don't let the drops escape." Before the teacher's words fell, the children had already puffed up their cheeks to "encircle and suppress" the fleeing ink droplets, and the ink instantly bloomed on the rice paper.

Not only in primary schools, but also in some secondary schools in Malta, Chinese culture is also favored by more and more students. At St Hart's Secondary School in Gozo, Malta, a dumpling-making experience is underway. The students rolled out the dough, made dumplings, learned how to knead flour and water into a smooth dough, and when the steam rose and the lid was lifted, they stared at their "sunflower dumplings" and said, "It turns out that food is also a world language!"

At the High School Affiliated to the University of Malta, students experienced dumpling dumplings. Under the guidance of the Confucius Institute teacher, everyone kneaded the glutinous rice flour into small balls and wrapped it in bean paste or peanut filling. Tasting their own dumplings, everyone shared stories and blessings, and also learned about the culture carried by food, and the classroom became a cultural exchange site.

For university students, there are more opportunities to connect with Chinese culture. In some Chinese classes, students not only learn Chinese, but also understand Chinese medicine culture. Teachers and students from a Spanish school participated in a cultural activity with Maltese students at the Confucius Institute at the University of Malta, dressed in Hanfu and sharing their feelings, which further stimulated their interest in Chinese culture. At the celebration party of the 15th anniversary of the Confucius Institute at the University of Malta, the students dressed in cheongsams recited "Facing the Sea, Spring Blossoms", and the Mediterranean wind quietly penetrated into the poem.

In Malta, students have their own Chinese journeys: some students start at Chinese and gradually enter the world of lion and dragon dances, some learn Chinese because of their exposure to Chinese kung fu, some develop a strong interest in Chinese because of traditional Chinese medicine treatment, and some embark on a Chinese journey of learning by collecting Chinese stamps...... But they all love Chinese culture.

From "approaching" to "walking in"

On the streets of Malta, buses painted with "Nihao China" and famous Chinese attractions slowly pass by, becoming a streaming picture. Painted images of Chinese attractions such as the Great Wall, the Summer Palace, and the West Lake attracted passers-by to raise their mobile phones to take photos, and many people shared these photos on social media, sparking more interest in China.

At a restaurant on the Sliema waterfront in northeastern Malta, the chef put on a palate show – Maltese capers dancing in dumplings stuffed with sauerkraut in the Northeast, and blue and white porcelain plates holding up the "Mediterranean spicy pot" in an exotic way...... Each dish tells its story. Suddenly, an old Maltese man was engaged in a fierce "battle" with pot meat, chopsticks and forks clashing in her hands.

At the "Tea, Flowers, Clothes" cultural salon in Gozo, northern Malta, participants dressed in Hanfu danced lightly on the colorful mosaic floor tiles to the accompaniment of soft music, conveying the beauty of cross-cultural exchange.

At the "Garden of Tranquility" in Santa Lucia, in southern Malta, the tricks and tricks of the white-clad Tai Chi instructors attracted many curious eyes. Local residents exclaimed, "Tai Chi is so beautiful! I want to try it too!"

In the dock square of Cospiqua, a city in the southeast of Malta, Chinese medicine diagnoses pulses and treats ...... The Chinese medical team in Malta carried out free clinics, allowing local residents to experience traditional Chinese medicine. Everyone was not only amazed by the effects of Chinese medicine, but also interested in how to use Chinese medicine to improve health.

From the scent of ink in the classroom to the street car painting, from learning Tai Chi moves to experiencing the pulse diagnosis of traditional Chinese medicine, from wearing Hanfu to sharing chopsticks and knives and forks...... Chinese culture has left its mark on the hearts of more and more Malese.

The "Chinese culture fever" is heating up in Malta, from "approaching" to "walking in", from "curiosity" to "love...... Under the reflection of the Mediterranean sun, Chinese culture and local culture together write a vivid chapter of "each with its own beauty, and the beauty of the same".

(The author is an associate professor at Xiamen University and the Chinese director of the Confucius Institute at the University of Malta)