Recently, the 2025 "Chinese Bridge" cultural experience programme for Central African Republic students visiting China, organized by the Centre for Language Education and Cooperation under the Ministry of Education and hosted by Bohai University, took place at our institution. Eleven outstanding participants from the Confucius Institute at the University of Bangui engaged in two Chinese intangible cultural heritage courses—tea ceremony and Shaobei martial arts—to gain profound insights into Eastern philosophical wisdom and advance a new chapter in Sino-African civilization exchange.
In the "Tea's Enduring Fragrance" session, tea master Cui Yan guided participants through brewing Biluochun tea, teaching them from warming cups and cleaning utensils to savouring the lingering sweetness. This process embodied the Chinese learning philosophy of "bitterness before sweetness". In the martial arts hall, Shaobei martial arts inheritor Bao Yun demonstrated techniques such as "Pushing Palm and Blocking Charge" and "Millstone Step", illustrating the Chinese approach to life of "balancing strength and flexibility". Participants remarked that the tranquil elegance of tea ceremony and the fluid control of martial arts provided them with a tangible understanding of the Chinese wisdom of "harmony without uniformity".
As a practical outcome of the Confucius Institute jointly established by Bohai University and the University of Bangui in Central Africa, this event innovatively adopted a dual-track approach combining philosophical interpretation with practical skill demonstration. This enabled more young people to comprehend Chinese wisdom through the "Chinese Bridge" programme. The university will continue leveraging the Confucius Institute platform to deepen Sino-African educational cooperation, contributing Bohai University's strength to implementing the Global Civilization Initiative and building a closer Sino-African community with a shared future.
