Hanban Participates in Expolingua Berlin 2009

The 22nd Expolingua Berlin was held at the Russian House of Science and Culture, Berlin from Nov. 20th to the 22nd. As the only international language and cultural exposition in German language regions, the Expolingua Berlin attracts over 200 exhibitors and over 15,000 visitors from more than 30 countries every year. Hanban participated in the exposition this year and held  opening ceremony for the China Booth.
   
Dr. Feng JIANG, Minister Counselor from the Educational Division of Chinese Embassy in Germany,  Yang BAI, Director of Berlin Chinese Culture Center participated in the opening ceremony. The Opening ceremony featured performances of Chinese tea culture, calligraphy, erhu and martial arts.
  
In order to better promote international Chinese teaching resources and raise the Confucius Institute’s profile, Hanban exhibited over 200 kinds of international Chinese teaching products for the first time. Amongst the Chinese teaching and reading materials were publications such as Happy Chinese, Contemporary Chinese and 5,000 years of Hanzi all featuring explanatory notes in German; they were specially compiled for learners in German speaking regions. In addition to Chinese teaching material and Hanban promotional activities, there were also various cultural events. Hanban’s introduction film, Chinese experience class, a photo exhibition focusing on Contemporary China, Chinese tea culture performance and art performance on site all attracted large audiences.
   
Feng JIANG stated during an interview that the Confucius Institute project has made major progress in Germany in 2009; for instance, the establishment of Confucius Institute Munich, the Confucius Institute at the University of Freiburg and the Confucius Institute at the University of Duisburg-Essen are all examples of great advancement. Confucius Institutes have been established all over Germany in order to satiate German people’s Chinese language and culture learning demands, with an emphasis on assisting mutual understanding and social communication between China and Germany. There is a burgeoning scene for Chinese in Germany, according to statistics there are now over 30,000 Germans learning Chinese.