Release Time: 2025-06-20

On Wednesday, June 18, 2025, the international students of Grade 2023 from the Civil, Mechanical, and Electrical Engineering major of the School of International Education had the last lesson of the HSK training course for this semester. When Instructor Sha Cheng finished explaining the teaching contents and was about to dismiss the class, the students were still seated, smiling at her. A male student left the classroom while other students said to her: “Teacher, we would like to stay with you for a while.” Ms. Sha was curious about their mysterious behavior. At this moment, the student who briefly left the classroom returned with a cake in his hands. He came to Ms. Sha and said, “Teacher, this is a surprise for you. Thank you.”

Tears moistened Ms. Sha’s eyes. Later, she learned from the class supervisor that the surprise case was bought with each student contributing 5 Yuan, which moved her deeply. Ms. Sha was meticulous in teaching and strict with students, so she even thought that the students were “intimidated” by her. From initially struggling to distinguish each student to rapidly recognize every person and even know their details, this surprise not only represented a two-way journey of “gathering for language” and “touching by true feelings”, but also reflected the students’ emotional evolution during the two years of living and studying here: from knowing China to understanding China, appreciating China and finally to cherishing China.

This simple but sincere thanksgiving ceremony did more than just mark a conclusion to the teacher-student bond. In fact, the international students not only offered a cake, but also presented how deeply they valued being highly regarded and understood. This event also reflected their understanding of traditional Chinese culture, and further strengthened their confidence and resolve to master the Chinese language and the knowledge of their major!