KM Faridul Hasan

Last October, Chinese Scholarship Council (CSC) organised a tour for government scholarship holders in Hubei to visit various important places of the province and get introduced to Chinese culture, tradition, history, lifestyle, cuisine and so on.
Students from more than 50 countries _ including Bangladesh, Iran, Uganda, Russia and France _ who are studying in different universities of Hubei came on the three-day tour. It was also an opportunity for us to know about the culture, tradition and lifestyle of different countries.
We started our trip from Huazhong Normal University on the morning of October 18 by bus, along with a Chinese guide and teacher.
First, we visited Wuhan Steel Mills, from where the industrial era of China started.  After lunch, we started for a village, where we arrived in the afternoon. There, we got the scope to see and meet with Chinese villagers closely. We took dinner with traditional Chinese foods, prepared with various fish, meat, vegetables and rice. After dinner, we walked around the village and took some pictures. Normally, the culture of a country is developed from the village, so it was an advantage for us to know about a Chinese village. After sunset, we left for Xiannin, where we spent the night.
       On the second day of our tour, we had breakfast in the hotel at 7am and travelled to Jiugong Mountain. On the journey by bus, we were enchanted by the natural beauty of China. When we started to reach the top, we felt much romance seeing the charming and wonderful mountain. There are so many bamboo trees in the mountain, that’s why it is called the ‘Ocean of bamboos’.
When we climbed to the top of the mountain, we were surprised with the weather. It was a sunny day, but we felt a little cold.  We walked around the mountain to enjoy the natural beauty, and snapped many photos. We also saw the power turbine which supplies electricity to different parts of Hubei.
On the way back from the mountain, we sang songs from different countries. Our Chinese volunteers and teacher also sang a duet with us. We were greatly missing the beautiful mountain!
On returning to Xiannin, we had lunch and walked to a nearby lake and shopping centre. There, we enjoyed different rides, along with visiting a temple.
After dinner at our hotel, a tour celebration cake was brought in as a surprise and one representative from each university took turn to cut the cake. Some of the participants gave speeches or sang songs. I also cut the cake as a representative of Wuhan Textile University and Bangladesh. Then, I sang our national anthem in front of all the foreign students. It was really an exceptional feeling, and I became a little bit emotional. It really was a wonderful day for me.  
On the last day of our tour, we packed our bags and left the hotel after breakfast. We visited an old community in Wuhan. Here, we were introduced to extraordinary Chinese paintings, art and design, such as paper art and designs inside a bottle.
After lunch with delicious Chinese food at a restaurant, we went to Wuhan Citizens Home, an administrative office where foreigners come to extend their visas. Important information about Wuhan and Hubei province is available at the home. Many photos of famous places of Wuhan are also arranged there. By looking at the pictures and watching different videos, one can easily get a clear idea about the culture, tradition, history, geography, economy, education, population, tourist spots etc of the region in central China.  
Thus, we finished our tour and took leave of each other to return back to our respective university dormitories. It was really a very painful moment to say goodbye to each other. Within three days, we had become very good friends, we enjoyed various happy moments together. It was really an extremely memorable and wonderful time.