Students perform the Huangmei Opera, The Heavenly Match. [Photo/Nantong Daily]

Overseas students from the higher educational institutions across Nantong, Jiangsu province, gathered at Nantong Vocational University on Jan 21 to celebrate the upcoming Spring Festival.

Officials from the Jiangsu Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese and the Nantong Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese presented the "Belt and Road" Ambassador Scholarships from the Overseas Chinese Charity Foundation of China to selected international student representatives.

These students also engaged in traditional cultural activities such as making dumplings, cutting the character "福" (meaning good fortune in English) out of paper, and writing Spring Festival couplets.

Students sing a song at the celebration event. [Photo/Nantong Daily]

Students from Namibia, Laos, Malaysia, Indonesia, and other countries showcased a diverse array of performances, including Chinese songs and dances like Climbing Spring Mountain, I Love You China, and excerpts from the Huangmei Opera The Heavenly Match, alongside cultural performances from their home countries.

Qiang Yi, Party secretary of NTVU, said that since its founding, the university has been dedicated to cultivating highly skilled talents and nurturing future leaders for countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative. To date, 279 students from 13 BRI countries have studied at the university, exemplifying the vibrant cultural exchange and mutual learning between China and the rest of the world.