From 2nd to 22nd April, invited by Sharjah Institute for Heritage, a cultural delegation made up of 12 faculty and students from ZJSU led by Professor Zhang Junying, Deputy Director of the International Office, and Associate Professor Zhou Ling from School of Oriental Languages and Culture flew to the United Arab Emirates and actively involved in the 17th Sharjah Heritage Days. Professor Zhang and Doctor Abudul Aziz Al Musalm, Chairman of Sharjah Institute for Heritage, entered into a talk on deepening cultural exchanges and cooperation. Later Mrs Zhang joined Professor Hamid M.K. AL Naimiy, President of Sharjah University, for the conversation on pushing forward the joint establishment of “Silk Road School”.

During the Sharjah Heritage Days, students from ZJSU set up Chinese culture exhibition area in the international culture exhibition hall themed as “ZJSU Mates in Sharjah Heritage Days”, displaying cultural items such as colored lanterns, Paper Cuttings, Chinese Caligraphy, tea ceremony, underglaze blue tableware and so on. It shows the unique charm of Chinese traditional cultural heritage and promote the communication and cooperation between Chineses culture and global cultures. Meanwhile, specially for this exhibition, ZJSU libraby provided 50 English books covering Chinese economy, history, celebrities, education and entrepreneurship, which intrigued the visitors for its all-around introduction of Chinese contemporary situations and social development. As one of the three guests of honor being invited, ZJSU has been paid much attention and treated with generous hospitality in UAE, and even was repeatedly interviewed and reported by the local media, which is believed to broaden the global influence of ZJSU and accelerate the spreading of Chinese culture.

It is learned that Sharjah Heritage Days, held by Sharjah Institute for Heritage, would last for 20 days. 23 groups from 60 countries were invited to attend the activities themed as “Glories for Cultural Heritage-Marking Everlasting National Memories”. Inheritors of the Intangible Cultural Heritage from Nanjing, China demonstrated the Chinese traditional arts like brocade, Paper Cutting, miniature, Beijing Opera masks, knotting, Shadow Puppets, Erhu and Chinese Zither. Beisides, Ms Tan Li, Chinese Consul General in the UAE visited the faculty and students of ZJSU and other representatives participating the exhibition. Many media agencies including People’s Daily interviewed and reported the event, and CCTV News Channel reported the whole event.