On the evening of December 30th, the "Starlight Unites Us at This Moment" New Year Gala of the International Education College warmly commenced in the East Lecture Hall on the first floor of the Administrative Building. Zhou Yong, Secretary of the College Party Committee; Li Juan, Dean of the College; Yan Chicheng, Deputy Secretary of the College Party Committee; Zhao Peng and Liu Ya'na, Vice Deans of the College; along with international students who arrived in China in 2025 and representatives of faculty and students gathered together to celebrate cross-border friendship and ring out the old year while ushering in the new.
Deputy Secretary Yan Chicheng delivered the opening speech, encouraging students to study diligently and broaden their horizons in the coming year. He emphasized that as students of the International Education College, one cannot truly understand China or introduce a real, multidimensional, and comprehensive China to the world without a deep understanding of the country. He stated that opening education to the outside world serves as a vital vehicle for people-to-people and cultural exchanges between China and other countries, carrying the important mission of telling China's stories well and promoting mutual learning among civilizations.
The gala kicked off with the opening dance "New Dance," whose dynamic rhythm instantly ignited the atmosphere. In the first chapter, "One Heart, One Goal," the sweet melody of the song "Say I Love You," the intertwined sounds of the *hulusi* (a Chinese flute) and guitar in "Fengwei Bamboo Under the Moonlight" and "An He Bridge," paired with the hot dance "Hot & Cold," showcased the youthful energy of the students. The second chapter, "Dreams in Harmony," featured a clever fusion of Chinese and foreign elements: the delicate emotions of the song "Obviously," the traditional Chinese charm of the dance "Ballad of a Small Town," contrasted vividly with the humorous twist of the sketch "Snow White and the Seven Tall Guys"; the dance "Pretty Please" conveyed an international aesthetic appeal through its fashionable choreography, earning continuous applause. The third chapter, "Moving with the Times," saw the amusing performance of the sketch "Robbery," the heartwarming chorus of the song "Our Song," alongside the stylized dances "Thunderous Turkey" and "Past and Present Lives," allowing artistic forms from different cultures to collide and resonate here. Finally, the fourth chapter, "Grand Harmony," brought the gala to its climax: the fervent atmosphere of the rap performance, the exotic flair of the traditional Persian dance, and the cool,rhythms of street dance took turns on stage; the sketch "The Unfinished and Abandoned Painting" amused the audience with its creative plot, while the Russian chorus "ДЯВОНИХА" interpreted the warm core of the "international family" with the pure beauty of its harmonies.
The entire gala served not only as a stage for Chinese and international students to showcase themselves but also as a vivid practice of the International Education College's philosophy of cross-cultural exchange. Programs in different languages and styles converged at this moment of bidding farewell to the old and welcoming the new, forming a unique melody of "enlightening through culture, connecting hearts through art."
