Martin Li

    martin.mouse@163.com

    AUTHENTIC Kimchi, ice cream, apparel and dances — all were found at Donghai Community in Futian District over the past week, where visitors may have felt as if they were in the land of morning calm, as Korea is sometimes known.

    Located in Xiangmihu Subdistrict, Donghai was where the first Cultural Exchange Week between China and South Korea was held. It concluded last night with a gala. The event was organized by the foreign affairs office of the district government, the subdistrict office and Shenzhen’s Korean Chamber of Commerce.

    Donghai is home to more than 1,000 expats, 80 percent of whom are South Koreans.

    The event featured various cultural and sports activities presenting Chinese and Korean cultures, including fashion shows, folk dances and songs, and lectures on making Kimchi and Chinese crafts.

    “I tasted South Korean ice cream and tried on traditional Korean clothes. It’s my first time being so close to South Korea in Shenzhen,” a resident in the community surnamed Qian told Shenzhen Daily yesterday.

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    “I shared photos of myself in a traditional Korean dress on WeChat and many friends asked whether I was in South Korea on vacation,” laughed Qian, who said she is a fan of the country’s culture.

    The three-day charity sale was perhaps the highlight of the event. South Korean products were sold to raise funds for underprivileged children and people with disabilities.

    “The cultural exchange week is the biggest of its kind between the two countries in Shenzhen. I hope there will be more exchange activities held that let Chinese people and South Koreans learn each other’s traditional arts and cultures,” Kim Dae-soon, vice chairman of the South Korean Chamber of Commerce in Shenzhen, told Shenzhen Daily yesterday.

    Kim has been active in promoting cultural exchange between China and South Korea and won with another nine expats the district government’s international friendship award in September.

    “As a South Korean, I feel honored and proud to contribute to the event,” said Kim, whose commerce chamber helped organize the event.

    Kim suggested that Futian organize similar cultural exchange activities with other foreign countries to increase the district’s appeal to expats.

    “In addition, international cultural exchange activities can also broaden local residents’horizons,” said Kim.

    Futian’s goal: to eliminate distance from the world

    The Sino-Korea cultural exchange week is Futian’s latest effort to develop its international communities.

    The district has selected ten locations for the drive, including the Donghai and Shuiwei communities.

    “The district has been active in boosting foreign exchanges in recent two years. We initiated the international friendship award, held the international urban image festival and hosted yearly concerts for local expats,” the district’s Party chief, Zhang Wen, said at the opening ceremony of the cultural week last Friday.

    “Our goal is to build a‘global village’ for people from around the world, and to make Futian a livable place with no distance from the rest of the world,” said Zhang.

    The combined temporary and permanent expat population in Futian reached approximately 10,000 last year. They include people from start-ups, the service industry and innovative enterprises, according to Wu Jing, member of the Standing Committee of the Futian District Committee of the Communist Party of China.

    To help expats become involved in local life, the district established Shenzhen’s first expat volunteer team last year. It has members from more than 30 countries including the United States, France, Britain and Spain. The youngest member is 14 and the oldest is 60.

    “Six communities, including Donghai, had established liason offices by early September to serve expats and encourage them to take part in community management,” said Wu, who is charge of foreign affairs in the district.

    The district’s other internationalization efforts include the opening of an English-language website - www.futian.gov.cn - and correction of English-language public signs in selected communities.