The Confucius Institute day celebrations held in Confucius Institute at Kenyatta University on Friday were both enlightening and entertaining as the audience got a rare opportunity to explore and learn about different Chinese traditional outfits.
Themed celebrating Chinese traditional costumes, the event brought together students from Kenyatta University, Strathmore University, United States International University (USIU), Rusinga Schools and Ruiru Fairview Academy pupils among other invited guests.
During the event, the Confucius Institute at Kenyatta University (KUCI) students and teachers modeled in different costumes as Teacher Zhuo Hao, the institute's acting director, gave details and history of each attire.
The costumes ranged from those worn during the Han and Tang dynasties, to those worn by the Tibetan, Zhuang and Uyghur ethnic groups.
In his speech, Zhuo said KUCI is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year and has so far graduated more than 3,000 students.
"Under the brilliant leadership of our local director Dr Kamau Wango and the Chinese director together with the joint efforts of the Chinese and local staff, KUCI has made significant progress in teaching activities, cultural activities and media coverage of major events," he said.
Zhuo said KUCI is currently the largest Confucius Institute in Kenya for Chinese language teaching and Chinese language examinations and is developing toward a comprehensive institute integrating teaching, cultural exchanges and academic research.
To better spread Chinese language and culture in Kenya, KUCI has already established one Confucius classroom in Rusinga Schools and the second one in USIU is under construction.