Shanghai International Studies University hosts student booths from 24 countries and regions

2017 Shanghai International Studies University (SISU) International Carnival kicked off at its Hongkou campus Tuesday. For its fourth edition, the carnival aimed to promote cultural exchange and encourage communication between students from various countries and regions.

Students from 24 countries and regions including Belgium, Romania, France, Bulgaria, Uzbekistan, Thailand, Vietnam and Pakistan participated in the event. They were each provided a booth to show the best of their country's culture, history and tradition.

Over 800 international and Chinese students attended the event. Students from Russia dressed in traditional clothes presented matryoshka dolls and served self-baked apple and potato pies. Saudi Arabian students brewed their country's coffee and invited everyone to try on a traditional Middle Eastern headdress, called keffiyeh.

Students from South Korea cooked up a spicy stir-fried dish called tteok-bokki mixed with kimchi, a pickled cabbage. Students from Japan presented calligraphy works and paintings of well-known animation and manga characters.

During the interactive event, students also held an online vote using WeChat to choose their favorite booth and team. Visitors were also encouraged to collect a postcard at the entrance and have it stamped from each booth, which they could later exchange for a small gift.