First hybrid China Week begins with a day for students

The decision was made to offer a hybrid program so that interested parties from outside Clausthal and from China also have the opportunity to take part in the event. Today's student day, which for organizational reasons took place as a "pre-conference" before the official opening, welcomed almost 60 participants. Around half of them came to the Aula Academica to take part in the lectures, while the other half joined in online via Zoom. Prof. Dr. Christian Bohn, Vice President for Studies and Teaching, was the moderator for the day. Although he has had little contact with China activities to date, after a brief personal review of his experiences with and in China, he concluded that there should be "differences between countries, but not between people". The focus should always be on exchange, which is why an event like China Week is so important.

Prof. Dr. ZHANG Weiqi also conveyed this message in his lecture "Why is China suddenly 'uncool'? Beginning with the statement "I am unique", he described his journey from China - with various stops in between - to Germany in a very impressive and sometimes very emotional way. Visibly moved, he described how he experienced the protests on June 4, 1989 on Tiananmen Square here in Germany, where "China showed the other face live on TV". Although this event took place over 30 years ago, China is still "uncool", perhaps even "even more uncool". We can only speculate as to why this is the case, which is why he can only advise people to take the opportunity to get to know China for themselves in a personal meeting.

Prof. Mechthild Leutner from the FU Berlin makes a similar statement. In her very vivid presentation, in which she analyzes book titles and magazine covers, among other things, she states that images of China have fluctuated for years between the two extremes of admiration on the one hand and the threat of "the yellow peril" on the other. In order to overcome this discrepancy, a reflective China competence - also on the part of politicians - is essential.

Dr. Lara M. Gottfried will present the opportunities that Clausthal University of Technology offers for developing and expanding China expertise as part of the Going China program for members of Clausthal University of Technology. In addition to exchange semesters, there is also the opportunity to take part in conferences, for example. Tongji University also offers a wide range of opportunities to gain an impression of China and acquire China expertise, as Thomas Willems, Vice Director of the CDHK, reports. In addition to various lectures, language courses, seminars and workshops are also offered at weekends. In order to finance a stay in China, Mr. Wei Huang, Minister Counsellor for Education, has sent good news: Clausthal University of Technology is now one of the 15 German universities benefiting from the Chinese government's scholarship program (CGS Type A). In his presentation, he also gave reasons for a visit to China and described the application process. For all those interested, he emphasized that foreign students who are planning a long-term study (more than 6 months) in China or receive a CGS Type A scholarship can apply for a study visa at the Chinese Visa Application Service Center Berlin since August 2022 with a "Visa Application for Study in China" (JW201 or JW202) form issued by the Chinese university, a letter of admission or a certificate of (re-)commencement of studies in China.

Finally, four Chinese students from the joint TUC and SCU Bachelor's degree program, which started in 2021, will describe exactly what everyday life in China can look like. In addition to information about the environment and everyday life, they will also present sports activities in Chengdu and student life. Martin Josuweit provided a further insight into Chinese culture with "Qigong to join in", whereby the title was also the program. According to him, the effects of Qigong cannot be experienced simply by listening, but you have to activate the energy flow yourself, which he illustrated with several small exercises.

The final knowledge quiz on China, conducted by Dr. Lara M. Gottfried and Dr. Liu-Kiel, showed just how well TU Clausthal is already positioned in terms of China expertise: Both first and third place were taken by a German participant and were rewarded with a building block set and a calligraphy set. Second place was awarded a gift basket with Chinese food and places 4-10 did not go away empty-handed either, but received a voucher for the Chinese restaurant Ju Bin Lou in Clausthal. The day ended here with the preparation and tasting of the Chinese dish Jiaozi and a short lecture on Chinese food culture. A total of 37 people took part, including many German students who came especially for the cooking evening and did not take part in the previous program. The atmosphere was so good and exuberant that the impressions gathered during China Week were discussed both objectively and controversially until 10 pm.