Confucius Institute News

An Unveiling of the Statue of Confucius was held on July 1st 2 45 – 4:00pm by the Confucius Institute.

A delegation of the Provincial government of Shandong, China, headed by Mr Zhang Chuanlin, Vice Chairman of Shandong Provincial Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference has visited the Confucius Institute at the University of Adelaide.

The Confucius Institute organized a ceremony to unveil the Confucius statue, donated by the people and government of Shandong.

40 people attended a lovely ceremony. There was an opening speech by Mobo Gao the Director of the Confucius Institute who also introduced Professor John Taplin and Vice Chancellor Professor James Mc Wha both of whom welcomed the delegation warmly and We were all very pleased to celebrate the positive ties between the University of Adelaide and the University of Shandong. The head of the Chinese delegation responded in kind. The plaque was unveiled and photos taken. We were entertained by Liang Zhao Hong a beautiful guzheng player and the atmosphere was warm and friendly. One of the highlights was a speech in Chinese made by a Chinese Language student at the University who had been to Shandong University. This second language background student and potential teacher impressed us with her clear and excellent pronunciation. Ms. Kelly Greatrex was also, winner of the 2008 Advanced Chinese Prize, University of Adelaide.
 
This was a great opportunity to celebrate a longstanding sister relationship between South Australia and Shandong as well as the close relationship between the University of Adelaide and Shandong University, a relationship that stretches back more than 20 years. The rainy weather didn’t dampen our warm friendly spirits as we celebrated the success of this event. 

The unveiling was followed by refreshments and drinks at the Confucius Institute.