The delegation poses for a photo at XJTU.

From Aug 23 to 24, Furuya Koji, chairperson of Yamanashi Gakuin University, led a delegation of elementary students from the Confucius Institute at Yamanashi Gakuin University to Xi'an Jiaotong University (XJTU) for an exchange. Shan Zhiwei, vice-president of XJTU, attended the welcome ceremony and delivered a speech.

On behalf of the university, Shan warmly welcomed the elementary students and their parents from Yamanashi Gakuin University. He introduced the long history of Sino-Japanese educational and cultural exchanges, XJTU's development, and Xi'an culture, expressing hope that the young guests would help foster friendship and cooperation between the two schools and deepen people-to-people exchanges between China and Japan.

Furuya Koji expressed his sincere gratitude for XJTU's warm reception and strong support. He emphasized that the Yamanashi Gakuin Confucius Institute is committed to building exchange programs with China that cover all age groups and plans to arrange for various exchange delegations, from elementary students to doctoral students, to visit China in the future.

During the visit, the university organized activities for Chinese and Japanese children to interact, as well as cultural classes on the Chinese language, painting, and knot making. The atmosphere was lively and pleasant, with the Japanese students displaying great enthusiasm for learning. Through these activities, the children from China and Japan not only deepened their understanding of each other's cultures but also planted the seeds of friendship.

As the Confucius Institute celebrates its 20th anniversary, the visit of the elementary student delegation from Yamanashi Gakuin Confucius Institute is not only a celebration of this milestone but also points to a bright future of educational exchanges and cooperation between China and Japan.