 |
|
Gu Xiulian (R-2),
Vice-Chairwoman of the Standing Committee of the National People's
Congress and President of the All-China Women's Federation, sings with
Svetlana Orlova (R), Vice-Chairwoman of the Federation Council of Russia,
at a performance in Moscow. |
China's Web-based generation may find it ridiculous to see people of their
parents' age, or even older, weep while listening to Russian folk songs.
But if they look closer, they will find a genuine emotion in these tears.
The generation gap is most obvious when it comes to Russia. For older
Chinese, feelings toward Russia are reflective of the ups and downs in bilateral
ties - ties that have been strengthened in the last three decades.
Yet for a young generation, it is an exotic place of beauty and wealth, of a
deep and profound culture - a mystic power.
These ideas found expression at the China Russia Women's Cultural Week from
July 2-8 in Moscow and St. Petersburg, one of the main events of the Chinese
Year in Russia, that led to much interaction between people from both countries
at concerts, discussions and exhibitions.
They were also mirrored by the different generations of Chinese students in
Russia, who got together during the week. For those sent by the State in the
1950s, during the honeymoon days of bilateral ties, their whole life has been
inked in the history of the Communist Movement worldwide.
 |
|
Zhao Shaohua (L), Vice
President of the All-China Women's Federation, exchanges gifts with
Valentina Matwiyenko, the mayor of St Petersburg.
|
Take 73-year-old Sun Guiyu, retired geology professor from Peking
University, who was one of the first group of students dispatched by the Chinese
government in 1954.
A native of Harbin, capital of Northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, she
landed the rare chance of overseas studies owing to both her academic excellence
and political reliability.
More than five decades later, she joined the Chinese delegation organized by
the All-China Women's Federation, and returned to Russia as a folk artist during
the Cultural Week. As she rose to make a speech, she saw one of her former
classmates, a Russian, approach the stage. The two hugged and cried unabashedly
before a large audience.
