In recent years, Wuhan's various districts have been striving to increase the level of opening-up by developing brands with distinctive features. To help our readers better understand this, more effectively tell Wuhan stories to the world, and celebrate the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) with practical action, we are launching a series of bilingual reports related to "One District, One Brand." In this report, we take a look at Hongshan District which is known as the "city of universities."
Hongshan District is home to 35 universities, 600,000 college students, 65 state key disciplines, and 17 state key laboratories. There are 1.75 million permanent residents, 55.28 percent of whom are higher education degree holders. As the saying goes, "For every ten people in Hongshan, five are college graduates."
The first optical fiber, high-powered laser, and science and technology business incubator in China were all created here, making it known as a hotbed for young, innovative, business and savvy talents.
The lakes (East Lake, South Lake, Yezhi Lake, Huangjia Lake, and Qingling Lake) are connected to each other while the hills (Yujia, Nanwang, Guizi and Shizi) face each other, creating a beautiful picture of the harmonious coexistence between humans and nature.
These strengths help make it popular with foreign students.
There are thousands of foreign students in the district who live in the dorms of their universities or in surrounding communities. With a variety of student activities on hand, anyone who comes here considers it incredible.
The Huanongdong Community organized a practice group for Chinese and foreign students to Jianshi County, Enshi, during the past summer vacation. They visited the homes of farmers and vineyards in the village of Dianziping to observe China's grassroots governance. "We all need to learn about the villagers' spirit of perseverance and selfless dedication," said Bernard, a Rwandan student.
In May this year, the third HUST International Student Dragon Boat Friendship Race took place at Yujia Lake. Nearly 100 students from 19 colleges and 37 countries formed six teams with the names of ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, horse, and sheep. In the end, the sheep team from Tongji Medical College won the gold medal.
During the welcome party of Central China Normal University in 2021, international and Chinese students jointly performed the original anti-scammer song, "Scammers." The words of the cheerful rap pushed the atmosphere to a climax.
Foreign students have developed a strong sense of identity here. Among them, those from the China University of Geosciences (Wuhan) and Central China Normal University voluntarily set up "Iron Man" and "Yang Lei Feng" service teams that participated in epidemic prevention and community governance.
With existing university resources, Hongshan District has built a number of innovative buildings such as the Alumni Innovation Center of Hongshan, the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center of China University of Geosciences (Wuhan), and 24 scientific and technological achievement transformation work centers. A total of 76 enterprises have been established in the alumni innovation center. Since the launch of the "Students Staying in Wuhan" program, 150,000 college students have settled in Wuhan and many international students choose to work here.
What if foreigners encounter difficulties? No problem! There is always someone to offer assistance! The Hongshan Labor and Personnel Dispute Arbitration Commission once acted as an "online bilingual mediator," making full use of the bilingual service function on WeChat to mediate a labor dispute between Jordyn, an American, and his employer. Eventually, a settlement was reached and Jordyn was paid on the spot for his work. "I want to thank you for your patience," Jordyn typed on his phone, thanking the staff members who helped him get his paycheck.
Hongshan District will continue to hold on to the opportunity of "One District, One Brand" in foreign affairs work by building a brand of "studying in Hongshan" and giving full play to the advantages of the scientific research institutes and universities. It aims to speed up the development of the international community and Wuhan's opening up to the outside world.
