In order to allow international students in China to understand the history, culture and customs of Shenyang and experience the Chinese New Year atmosphere personally, on February 1st, on the occasion of the arrival of the Minor New Year in northern China, the Institute of International Education organized some representatives of international students to visit the Shenyang Museum, walk into the "Old North Market", and carry out the "I Love Chinese Festivals" Chinese cultural experience activity for international students of Shenyang Medical College.

In the Shenyang Museum, the international students were amazed by the ancient meteorite that fell on the land of Liaoning and Shenyang 1.9 billion years ago. Under the explanation of the teacher, they learned about the traditional Chinese calendar of Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches and the order and years of the Chinese zodiac. They marveled at the exquisite exhibits such as the Liao Dynasty golden mask, the Liao white glazed black-colored animal pattern plum vase, and the Liao white glazed brown-colored flower pattern plum vase, and personally felt the profound historical culture and splendid civilization of China. What impressed the international students the most was that, with the support of the modern immersive interactive experience technology of the museum, visitors seemed to be able to travel through history, have close contact with historical figures from different periods in Shenyang, and witness the more than 110,000-year history of human activities, the more than 7,200-year history of human culture and the more than 2,300-year history of the city-building of Shenyang. Hu Ya, an international student from Pakistan in the 2022 grade, said, "This is my first visit to a museum since I came to China. I didn't expect Shenyang to have such a long history. There were so many cultural relics that I couldn't even see them all. I will come and have a look again if I have the chance in the future."

In the North Market, which is full of the rich atmosphere of old Shenyang, the international students were like Granny Liu entering the Grand View Garden. They were highly interested in the buildings with red walls and yellow tiles, the antique archways, the festive lanterns and big drums, and all kinds of old and new items with distinctive Shenyang characteristics, and truly felt the Chinese New Year atmosphere with red as the main color. Here, the international students watched the Beijing Opera performance of the female warrior Mu Guiying brandishing a spear carefully, appreciated the vivid and lifelike Chinese clay figurines, and tasted delicious snacks such as grilled kebabs, big fried dough twists, and maltose. They excitedly said, "This place is nice, fun and delicious. It's really great!" On the third floor of "Zhen You He", the international students took pictures in front of the decorative wall with the words "Good Luck" full of the Chinese New Year atmosphere one after another, impressively experiencing the festive atmosphere of the Chinese Spring Festival and expressing their good wishes for the new year.

This activity is one of the series of "I Love Chinese Festivals" Chinese cultural experience activities for international students of Shenyang Medical College held by School of International Education since 2023. It aims to provide a platform and carrier for international students in China to understand, perceive and serve China, and cultivate more high-quality international talents. At the same time, it spreads excellent traditional Chinese culture to international students, strengthens their emotional and cultural identification with China, and guides international students in China to tell Chinese stories well, convey the voice of China, and cultivate the sentiment of knowing and befriending China.

In the future, the School of International Education will further explore and innovate the educational mechanism and practical model of the "second classroom" for international students, help improve the internationalization level of education in our school, cultivate more narrators of Chinese stories, disseminates of Chinese voices, and creators of China-foreign friendships, and contribute the wisdom and strength of Shenyang Medical College to promoting the construction of a community with a shared future for mankind.