A celebration of the Chinese cultural event, the Lantern Festival, was held at the University of Sargodha (UoS). The event was co-organized by the Pakistan Institute of China Studies (PICS) and the Confucius Institute. The festival was attended by Chinese teachers of the Confucius Institute, the Director of the Pakistan Institute of China Studies Dr Fazlur Rehman and a large number of students.
Students enjoyed the Chinese cultural event by solving lantern riddles and winning gifts. Additionally, extensive information regarding the event was displayed on posters to acquaint students with festival day activities such as crafting red colour paper lanterns, guessing riddles, and eating traditional Chinese food ‘Yuanxiao’ or ‘Tangyuan’ which symbolises family unity, completeness, and happiness.
Director PICS Dr Fazlur Rehman urged the students to study the Chinese language, noting that it would provide them with employment and scholarship opportunities in China and Pakistan. He said that learning a language would bridge the gap and bring the people of two nations close to each other.
“China is a very important friend of Pakistan and cooperation between Pakistan and China is increasing in all fields so it is important that we understand each other’s culture so that Pak-China friendship and cooperation would be further deepened,” he added.
