On November 22, Wuhan University of Technology inaugurated the 2025 “Explore the World at WUT” Fengxing International Culture Festival at the Nanhu Campus. International students, together with Chinese faculty and students, gathered for this vibrant celebration of cultural diversity and global friendship.

The 2025 festival, under the theme “Explore the World at WUT, Understand China through the World”, featured four major sections: Cultural Exhibition Booths, Cultural Performances, Intangible Cultural Heritage Experiences, and AI Interactive Zone, creating a comprehensive and immersive cross-cultural communication platform.

“We hope to use culture as a bridge, enabling international students to understand China within the WUT campus, and presenting to the world a China that is credible, amiable, and respectable.”, stated Vice President Mai Liqiang in his address. He emphasized that the university is actively advancing its “4310” Internationalization Action Plan, and this culture festival serves as a vivid embodiment of this plan.

In the global culture exhibition area, country booths with distinctive features became a major highlight. Saudi Arabian Ye Wen introduced his hometown’s cuisine and specialty handicrafts to visitors in fluent Chinese. Students from Myanmar adorned their booth with padauk blossoms, the national flower of Myanmar, and traditional oil-paper umbrellas, where the rhythm of traditional music and dance complemented each other harmoniously. The China booth responded with a “Jingchu Culture Zone” featuring a paper-cutting artist demonstrating the craft on site, while sugar painting and clay figurine displays attracted students from various countries. A martial arts performance drew resounding applause. French exchange student Mathilde Wei excitedly showed her self-printed “Headlines Today” produced by an AI newspaper machine: “Amazing! I made the headlines!” She is part of the Confucius Institute exchange program between WUT and the Université de Lorraine, a key component of WUT's international cooperation network.

Outstanding works from various competitions, such as the Foreign Cultural Trade Talent Selection Competition and Hubei’s First International Students Short Video Competition, were also on display. These works, such as Yangtze River Journey co-produced by Nicaraguan master’s student Benidani and Nepalese undergraduate Mahar, Romance and Rise: My Wuhan Story by Vietnamese master’s student Ruan Weiwei, and A Pact with the Yangtze: Hubei Through Cambodian Eyes by Cambodian PhD candidate Lin Jinfeng, offered unique perspectives on their growth experiences in Hubei. By documenting Wuhan’s beauty and development through their personal lenses, these works garnered widespread acclaim from the audience.

The “University-Police-Community” Safety and Security Service Station at the event was equally noteworthy. It served as a miniature model of the innovative safety support system the university has established for international students. Officers from the Exit-Entry Administration Bureau of the Wuhan Municipal Public Security Bureau, the Hongshan Branch, and the Mafangshan Police Station were also present at the scene. They interacted warmly with international students, answering questions and providing multilingual safety handbooks to help enhance their awareness and capabilities for personal safety and protection. The on-site cultural fair attracted over 3,000 visitors, while the photo live stream garnered more than 500,000 views.

The cultural gala brought the festival to a successful close, with the song performance “We Are One Family” by international and Chinese students lifting the atmosphere to its peak, a moment where voices in different languages blended into a single, harmonious melody.

Written by: Li Kexin, Wang Zhaodi

Rewritten by: Li Huihui

Edited by: Liang Muwei, Li Tiantian

Source: School of International Education, International Office