Confucius Institute welcomes Chinese visitors

International ties were strengthened earlier this month when a Chinese delegation visited Charles Darwin University’s Confucius Institute.

The institute is a partnership between CDU and the Anhui Normal and Hainan universities in China and is designed to build cultural ties between communities.

CDU Vice-Chancellor and President Professor Simon Maddocks hosted the April 11 visit, which was from Anhui Province and included the Vice-Chairman of the Anhui Provincial People’s Congress, Mrs Hua Jianhui. 

Confucius Institute Director Professor Martin Jarvis said the institute was always happy to welcome officials from the Chinese Government, which supports Confucius Institutes throughout the world.

“They are always very keen to see what kinds of programs are being undertaken by any university around the globe,” he said.

“The purpose of our program is to deliver Chinese language and culture and to build academic bridges between our partnerships.

“The Confucius Institute here is unique in the world in that it has two Chinese partner universities; everyone else has just one, which gives us a fantastic opportunity with two completely different locations in China.”

Anhui is the Chinese sister province of the Northern Territory and Haikou – where Hainan University is located – is the sister city of Darwin.