The XI Ningbo International University Student Festival under the motto “Youth Ningbo unites the Silk Road” was held in the city of Ningbo (China) from July 14 to 18, 2024.

Russia was represented by the students and teachers from Irkutsk State University and Irkutsk Institute of the All-Russian State University of Justice. ISU delegation consisted of Yulia Bryukhanova, Head of the Department of Modern Russian Literature of the Institute of Philology, Foreign Languages and Media Communication, Luisa Nekrasova, a graduate student of the Department of Russian as a Foreign Language, and Daria Sivtseva, a graduate of the Faculty of History, Department of Political Science.

Irkutsk delegation had a unique opportunity to get acquainted with the history, culture, traditions and modern state of the port city of Ningbo. The students visited the ancient city of Xiangshan, the oldest private library in Asia, the Ningbo Ocean World and the China Port Museum. ISU representatives actively participated in workshops and got acquainted with Chinese traditional medicine.

Yulia Bryukhanova:

The most important impression of the trip is connected with fruitful communication. Students from Irkutsk met their peers from different countries: Malaysia, Pakistan, Mongolia, Vietnam, Romania, Morocco, Madagascar and, of course, China. It was a great opportunity to broaden your horizons and establish important friendly contacts, it was also a chance to prove yourself and represent your city with dignity.

Over the last few years, Irkutsk and Ningbo have maintained close cooperation. In 2023, a delegation from Irkutsk headed by the Mayor Ruslan Bolotov visited Ningbo, one of the largest port cities in China. The two cities are developing close exchanges in sports, education, art and other fields.