With the Chinese Lunar New Year beginning on February 10, the whole country is in a festive mood. It is a time for families and friends to reunite, celebrate and relax. A delicious meal, spectacular fireworks and festive decorations add delight to the festival.

Chinese people enjoy jiaozi on New Year's Eve

During Spring Festival, Chinese families gather together to celebrate, make wishes and share presents, and have a rich dinner on the New Year's Eve. People eat jiaozi (Chinese dumpling) and tangyuan (a traditional Chinese dessert) and watch Chunwan (Spring Festival TV gala) together and children receive yasuiqian (money given to children as a gift). The doors are decorated with Chunlian (Chinese couplets) and people wear red clothes for good luck.

"I like to eat dumplings stuffed with meat and vegetables. The dumplings are always a good choice when we are talking about what to eat, as they are delicious," said Enea Dumitru-Sorin, a teacher at the National University of Science and Technology Politehnica Bucharest, Romania.

Chinese people are friendly, and China's scenery is picturesque

In March 2017, Sorin came to Beijing International Studies University (BISU) to teach Romanian on a 7-year Eastern European languages teaching program. He was immediately impressed when he arrived in Beijing.

"Everything looks so big, and I was afraid I would get lost. When I arrived, I only knew how to say hi, how to pronounce my name and how to say where I come from in Chinese. Luckily, I discovered the Chinese people are very friendly and many of them can speak English. Then I found out that the phone apps can help in figuring out some problems," said Sorin.

He was particularly fascinated by China's picturesque scenery. In July 2023, he went traveling. "Xizang is beautiful and is different from what I thought. I had the impression that it would be covered in snow and would very cold because of the high altitude. I didn't expect that Xizang would be so dry and have so much desert. The efforts people have made to have forests there is amazing. I think that in the future, most parts of Xizang will be green and the life of the people will be easier," added Sorin.

Best wishes for China and Romania relationship

This year marks the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Romania. "I wish the relations between the two countries would become better and better. Hopefully, citizens of both countries could travel without visas," said Sorin. He said there are a host of intergovernmental agreements that allow students to study languages in foreign countries, so that their language skills could reach a new level via interacting with local people, visiting exhibitions, concerts, or museums as well as experiencing local people's lives and local culture.

In June 2023, several BISU students visited Sorin's hometown, Maldaresti, to learn the Romanian language. They had a picnic with Sorin's sister and her colleagues, who are also teachers, and their fluency and proficiency in Romanian improved remarkably. During this visit, they are eager to discover how Romanians spend their free time and Romanian traditional dishes attracted them. The visit obviously provides a vital platform for the students to have a better understanding of the language they are learning.

China is working hard to build a brighter future

Teenagers are the future of countries, and cultural communication will inject more vitality into the development of bilateral ties.

In 2002, Sorin started his teaching career in Romania, and two decades later, he is teaching the Romanian language in China.

"I like my job, and I like to work with Chinese students. They are smart and hardworking, so they master key points fast. I have very good relations with my colleagues, and I feel we are like a big family," he said.

Henry Adams once said that a teacher affects eternity. He can never tell where his influence stops. In Sorin's eyes, China is a country that knows well and values its past. China is a country that works hard in the present to build a brighter future in this globalized world.