By ANOZIE EGOLE

The Chinese Consulate General, Thursday, marked the 10th anniversary of a healthy relationship between Nigeria and China amidst fun and excitement. The event saw it hosting some teachers and 50 pupils of Itedo Nursery/Primary, Lekki, Lagos, at its Victoria Island office. Speaking at the event, the Chinese Consular General, Mr. Liu Kan, who expressed happiness at seeing the teachers and pupils said that the occasion was used to showcase the rich culture and tradition of China and also to solidify the relationship between them and Nigeria.

He said, “We wish to welcome you to our Consulate and hope that you enjoy a nice time with us as we hos tour Open Day celebration today. We are hoping that your generation of Nigerians will know more about China, her people, history, culture and friendly relationship with Nigeria. China has a long history of over 500 years spreading across civilizations, and today, we are contributing enormously to the development of the world.

Nigeria is one of China’s good friends; both countries have enjoyed very close, symbiotic relationship. We wish to ask for your assistance in further maintaining this good relationship. Some of you might be diplomats in future. And what we shall do is to work together to promote the friendly relationship between the two countries,” he said.

Earlier, officials of the Consulate,Mr. Xu Xing long and Mr. Yu Guo, took the visiting pupils and their teacher in two separate groups on a guided tour round the Consular offices, showing them Chinese Visa application procedure and Chinese national symbols and their meanings. The pupils and their teachers also visited Chinese historical photographic gallery where they were shown the bilateral exchange between China and Nigeria.

Beside the tour, video of modern development of China and Chinese tradition performance including Chinese calligraphy, paper cutting, and marshal arts were also displayed in the multifunctional hall. The visiting school was also shown a video footage depicting China’s culture, tradition and developmental strides. They also took part in an exhibition of Chinese gift items mounted by the Consulate and also partook in tying some of the knots themselves, Kungfu display which was led by by Fu Yong sheng, a kugfu teacher. The student on their own part, made some cultural dance presentations to entertain and to show the rich culture of the Nigeria.

Thereafter, Mr. Ogungbulugbe, the headteacher of the school, thanked the Chinese Consulate not only for hosting the school but for coming to improve the standard of their school through the infrastructural development they put in place in the school towards the end of last year.