In China, dozens of thousands of people have started singing Katyusha and other Russian songs, expressing their love for Russia with these ear-pleasing melodies. Many Russian families have got used to regularly watching the “Hello, China” educational TV programs devoted to the Chinese language… Based on the successful experience of the Year of Russia in China and the Year of China in Russia, the two countries organized a joint event, the Year of the Russian Language and the Year of the Chinese Language, in order to further expand bilateral exchange on all levels

“Eh, roads, it is dust and fog, cold, alarm and wild steppe grass…” With the Soviet song Roads, Wan Shouning stood out among the big number of Russian song lovers in an Internet competition. He won the gold medal of the contest “To Russia, with Love: China singing Russian songs”. In October 2010, at the closing ceremony of the Year of the Russian Language in China, the 26-year-old Chinese received the award from Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.

Chinese Ambassador to Russia Li Hui says the title “To Russia, with Love” very accurately caught the idea of the event and transpired the friendly feelings Chinese people have for Russia.

Over 12,000 lovers of Russian songs participated in the competition. It resulted in mass learning and spreading of Russian songs. Heartfelt performance by the contestants of Moscow Nights, Troika and other Russian songs moved the Russian members of the judge panel to tears.

The Year of the Russian Language in China made many young Chinese to fall in love with the Russian language and Russia. At present, over 100 Chinese universities teach Russian, and there are 7 centers teaching the language as well. According to preliminary statistics, over 10,000 students study Russian at universities. Besides, about 100,000 study Russian at secondary schools and about 3,000 at elementary schools.

During the Year of the Russian Language, 22 provinces, autonomous districts and cities of central subordination held over 260 events that embraced all society strata and attracted attention of a hundred-million audience.

For Yao Guangyan, 67, the Year of the Russian Language became a personal treat. In 1990, at the age of 47, the citizen of Dalian began studying Russian at the Dalian Institute of Foreign Languages and started compiling collections of Russian songs. His biggest ambition is to teach the Chinese to understand and sing present-day Russian songs instead of stopping at old Soviet ones.

He chose for himself the Russian name Vasily Ivanov. His business card says in Chinese and Russian, “I love the Russian language, I love Russian songs, Russian is my work.” By now, he has financed publishing of several collections of Russian songs and his efforts to popularize Russian songs have touched many of his friends in Russia.

Hello, China

“The basin of the Huang He river is the cradle of the Chinese civilization, the Chinese Hellas. China is the motherland of silk; its craftsmen make the best porcelain. The Chinese built the eighth wonder of the world, the Great Chinese Wall. China is the motherland of many discoveries and inventions,” this is how China was presented in the Hello, China educational program devoted to the Chinese language, which was shown on the Russian TV channel Kultura.

The authors of the program selected 100 words that represent traditional Chinese culture, such as Beijing opera, spirits – gate guards, tai chi chuan, kite, panda, etc. Videos, sound records and texts were created about these words and they were shown, broadcast and/or published by the Kultura channel, the Itar Tass news agency, the Golos Rossii radio station and the Rossiiskaya Gazeta newspaper. It helped Russians to learn simple Chinese words and phrases and to get a deeper understanding of China and its culture.

The launch of the Hello, China educational program is only a fraction of the active events that took place during the Year of the Chinese Language. The entire Year included 87 events related to education, culture mass media, cinema and news publications. There were language and song competitions, student meetings, learning seminars, letter exchanges between students, a music week, a cinema week, a culture week, theater competitions, and so on.

Chinese Education Minister Yuan Guiren, deputy chairman of the organization committee of the Years of the Russian and Chinese Languages, has said, “Moscow is the center of the events of the Year of the Chinese Language. They will take place across the entire Eurasian continent, from the Far East, to Siberia to the westernmost regions of Russia and will involve all big Russian cities.”

Like the Year of the Russian Language in China, the Year of the Chinese Language in Russia has received huge response and increased interest in studying Chinese. More and more young and older people join these studies. At present, Russia has 12 Confucius institutes, 2 Confucius classes and one Confucius radio broadcasting class. About 100 Russian universities have programs related to the Chinese language, and about 10,000 Russians study Chinese. The language is also taught at 13 Moscow schools, where it is learned by over 2,000 students.

Voice of friendship

“I am Chinese and I invite you to China!”, children from China’s regions that had suffered from an earthquake, said these words, learned at a class, to their Russian friends when visiting the Okean children’s center in Vladivostok. In summer 2009, a second group of over 500 Chinese schoolchildren from the provinces of Sichuan, Shanxi and Gansu spent three weeks here upon invitation of the Russian government. This way, the agreement between the two countries’ leaders on inviting 1,570 pupils from elementary and secondary schools in Chinese regions that had suffered from an earthquake for a vacation in Russia, reached in May 2008, was fully executed.

In Russia, Chinese children learned not only simple dialogs in Russian, but also popular Russian songs, Scarlet Sails, Bird of Happiness, etc. They learned and played together with Russian children and made a lot of friends. When it was time to say goodbye, all of them didn’t want to leave, and many children cried.

In summer 2010, as a friendly response, China invited the first group of Russian schoolchildren to a summer camp in China. In Beijing, Qingdao and Dalian, they, together with Chinese children, participated in concerts, spent quality time, helped each other and even made friends. Before leaving, many Russian children said, “I love China and I will miss it…”