The 2022 Confucius Institute Day and Mid-Autumn Festival activities were grandly held

From 17:00 to 20:00 local time on September 27, the 2022 Confucius Institute Day and Mid-Autumn Festival celebration was grandly held in the auditorium of the University of Latvia. It was co-organized by Confucius Institute at University of Latvia and Latvian China Studies Association and co-hosted by Karina Jermaka (President of Latvian China Studies Association) and Tang Jing (Chinese teacher of Confucius Institute). Mr. Liang Jianquan, Chinese Ambassador to the Republic of Latvia, Mr. Valdis Segliņš, Vice-Rector of University of Latvia, Professor Shang Quanyu, Chinese Director of tConfucius Institute at University of Latvia, and Professor Pēteris Pildegovičs, the Latvian Director of Confucius Institute at University of Latvia, attended the event.

Ambassador Liang Jianquan, Vice-Rector Valdis Segliņš, Professor Shang and Professor Pildegovičs delivered speeches. Ambassador Liang highly affirmed and praised the efforts and contributions made by the Confucius Institute at Latvia in promoting the vigorous development of the Chinese language and the friendship between the people of China and Latvia. Vice-Rector Segliņš graciously praised Chinese culture, and thanked the Confucius Institute for bringing the magical traditional Chinese culture here and sharing it with the local people. Professor Pildegovičs and Professor Shang extended a warm welcome and heartfelt thanks to everyone for coming, and hoped that everyone would work together to build a harmonious family of the Confucius Institute at LU.

At the beginning, five Chinese culture-themed workshops, “Chinese Name”, “Chinese Facial Makeup “,“Chinese Painting”, “Han Costume” and “Tai-chi “, quickly ignited the atmosphere of the scene. Participants obtained unique Chinese names based on the pronunciation of their names and the meanings of their favorite Chinese characters. They also learned about ancient Chinese characters through facial makeup painting and picked up the brush pen to feel the infinite charm of Chinese painting. When trying on the Han costume, the chemical reaction between traditional eastern clothing and western faces attracted bursts of shock. And the Tai-chi experience has been praised by kung fu enthusiasts again and again.

In the eager anticipation of the audience, the performances officially began. The lion dance and Tai-chi performance brought by the Latvian Sports Wushu Federation, and martial arts performance brought by the Riga Wushu Academy made the audience hooked. Guzheng player Wang Bingyu played a composition “When Will the Bright Moon Come”. The music was melodious, and full of thoughts and wishes for family members on the occasion of the Mid-Autumn Festival reunion. There were also beautiful songs by the children from Riga 34 and Riga 1 secondary schools, who skillfully performed “Where Are My Friends?” ”, “Grateful Heart”, “Smile to the World”, “Singing and Smile”, “Friends” and other classic Chinese songs, fully demonstrated the high spirits of the young and fruitful Chinese learning achievements. The Confucius Institute teacher team also sang “The Song of Confucius Institute Teachers”, determined to do better job in Chinese teaching. In the end, Xinyue Choir perfectly performed the Chinese song “My Motherland and Me” and the Latvian song “Paši Skaistakie Vārdi”. They enthusiastically expressed the long-lasting friendship between China and Latvia, and made the event in full swing.

Before the end of the event, the delicious moon cakes and authentic Chinese food made the guests and participants linger. This event was a great reunion after a two-year lapse of the COVID-19 epidemic. It has attracted more than 300 representatives from the Chinese Embassy in Latvia, University of Latvia, the Latvian China Studies Association, Xinhua News Agency, the Latvian National Library, Latvian Sports Wushu Federation, “Flying Brush” Studio, Riga 34 Secondary School, Riga Culture Secondary School, Jekabpils Secondary School, Riga 64 Secondary School, Riga Daugavgriva Secondary School, Transport and Telecommunication Institute, Riga Technical University, Rīga Stradiņš University, the Chinese Xinyue Choir, and the oversea Chinese students group, which was a huge success.

当地时间9月27日17点至20点，拉脱维亚大学孔子学院和拉脱维亚留华同学会联合举办的2022孔子学院日暨中秋节活动在拉脱维亚大学礼堂盛大举行，由拉脱维亚留华同学会会长卡琳娜和孔子学院教师唐静主持，中国驻拉脱维亚共和国全权大使梁建全先生、拉脱维亚大学副校长赛格林什先生、拉脱维亚大学孔子学院中方院长尚劝余教授和拉方院长贝德高教授等出席此次活动。

梁建全大使、赛格林什校长、尚劝余教授和贝德高教授分别致辞。梁大使高度肯定拉脱维亚孔子学院在推动汉语事业蓬勃发展、拉近中拉两国人民友谊上做出的努力与贡献；赛格林什校长以中国农历历法为例亲切称赞中国文化，并感谢拉大孔院将神奇的中国传统文化带到拉国与当地人民分享；贝德高教授和尚劝余教授则对大家的到来表示热烈欢迎和衷心感谢，希望大家同德一心、共同打造令人向往的拉大孔院大家庭。

活动伊始，“起中文名”、“脸谱绘画”、“中国画”、“汉服体验”、“学太极拳”五个中国文化主题工作坊如火如荼展开，迅速点燃现场气氛。参与者结合自己名字的发音和喜欢的汉字含意得到了独一无二的中文名，通过脸谱绘画了解了中国古代人物形象，并拿起毛笔感受了中国画“以形写神”的无穷魅力。试穿汉服时，东方传统服饰与西方面孔产生的化学反应引来阵阵惊呼；动静皆宜、孔武有力的太极拳体验更是让功夫爱好者连连称赞。

在观众的热切期盼中，文艺演出正式开始。拉脱维亚武术协会带来的舞狮表演和太极拳表演、里加武术学院带来的武术表演，台风霸气十足，让观众直呼过瘾；古筝演奏者王冰玉带来一曲《明月几时有》，曲风宛转悠扬，弹尽中秋团圆之际对亲人的思念与祝愿。还有里加34中学和里加第1中学孩子们美妙动听的歌声，他们熟练表演《我的朋友在哪里？》、《感恩的心》、《向世界微笑》、《歌声与微笑》、《朋友》等经典中文歌曲，充分展现了昂扬向上的精神风貌和丰硕的中文学习成果。孔院教师团队也倾情献唱《孔院教师之歌》，立志让汉语之花在波罗的海灿烂绽放，令人感动泪目。最后，华人心乐合唱团完美演绎中文歌曲《我和我的祖国》以及拉语歌曲“Paši Skaistakie Vārdi”，热情歌颂中拉友谊长存，将全场氛围推至最高潮。

活动结束前，美味的月饼和地道的中国美食更是让到场嘉宾和参与人员流连忘返。本次活动是新冠疫情后时隔两年的重大相会，吸引了来自中国驻拉脱维亚大使馆、拉脱维亚大学、拉脱维亚留华同学会、新华社、拉脱维亚国家图书馆、拉脱维亚武术协会、飞笔中国画室、里加34中学、里加文化中学、叶卡布皮尔斯中学、里加64中学、里加道加瓦河口中学、交通与电信大学、雷泽克内大学、里加工业大学、里加斯特拉京什大学、华人心乐合唱团、中国留学生团体共计300余人参加，盛况空前。