On January 19th, 2020, A New Year Gala for Chinese and International Youth was held by the Consulate General of the People’s Republic of China in New York, with presence of Consul General Huang Ping, his wife Mme Zhang Aiping and more than 200 Chinese students and international students studying at 25 universities such as Columbia, NYU, Princeton, Yale and Julliard School.
In his speech, CG Huang Ping extended a warm welcome to all the guests. He said that going home to celebrate the Chinese New Year is a sentiment deeply hidden in the hearts of every Chinese. No matter how busy and wherever you are, you have to go home for Chinese New Year. Tonight, the Consulate General is your home. Whether you are from the China’s mainland, Hong Kong, Macao or Taiwan, or whether you are from the United States or other countries, you will no longer feel lonely at this Spring Festival season.
Huang Ping recalled three journeys he has experienced. The first one is to go home for Chinese New Year. He said, I was born in a rural and mountainous region located in southwestern China, Guizhou province. It was a severely poverty-stricken region several decades ago. In the past, the train took 36 hours from Beijing to Guiyang. Nowadays, the high-speed train takes only 9 hours. After 40 years of reforms and opening up, China has become the world's second largest economy. The 35,000 kilometers of high-speed railway lines and countless new airports connect remote mountainous areas.
The second journey was when he was sent to work in the United States for the first time in 1988. Huang Ping said that the first impression of Manhattan was stunning.The villas and supermarkets were everywhere, which were unthinkable to China just at that time. I had always been dreaming that one day Chinese people would live a life just like Americans. Last year, China’s GDP per capita reached 10,000 US dollars, the supermarkets are now found throughout urban and rural areas in China, and the housing conditions have also been greatly improved. In the 70 years since the founding of the People's Republic of China, 850 million population have been lifted out of poverty, accounting for 70% of the global poverty population.
The third journey was when he returned to work in the United States this time. Huang Ping said that the year 2019 is also remembered as the 40th anniversary of China-US diplomatic relations, which has made great strides and become one of the most important bilateral relationship in the world. It not only directly benefits the people of the two countries, but also the world. Compared with 40 years ago, the China-US trade volume has increased from less than $2.5 billion to more than 630 billion; two-way investment has grown from almost zero to more than $230 billion; and people-to-people exchanges have surged from only a few thousand a year to more than 5.3 million. The total number of Chinese students studying in the United States exceeds 400,000. The relationship between China and the United States is too important. The largest developed country and the largest developing country can only work together to bring benefits to the two countries and the world. Although there are trade frictions and other differences, "decoupling" and the "new cold war" are not in the interests of both countries and the world. A few days ago, the two countries officially signed the first-phase trade agreement. This shows that China and the United States can resolve issues and reach consensus through dialogue and negotiation. We should abandon the old thinking of zero-sum games, establish a new concept of mutual benefit and win-win, strengthen communication on the basis of equality, mutual benefit and mutual respect for each other's core interests, continue to expand the cake of cooperation.
Huang Ping concluded that everyone present here is beneficiary of China's development and China-US relations. The China-US friendship takes its root in the people and its hope in the youth. He hoped that the young generation will cultivate an open and inclusive attitude, face the challenges of the future with a positive, optimistic, and uplifting mentality, and actively contribute positive energy to healthy and stable development of China-US relations, as well as be good messengers to communicate the hearts of the two peoples.
The students who attended the event stated that the Chinese Consulate General was as warm as home. Xu Yilun from the Juilliard School said with excitement that it’s her first time at the Chinese Consulate General to celebrate the Chinese New Year. Cao Tianze from Columbia University was inspired by the three journeys shared by Huang Ping, saying that his messages make us recognize the social responsibility on our shoulders and encourage us to strive to realize our own pursuits and dreams. Everyone eagerly hopes that the Chinese Consulate General will host more and more events like this, enabling Chinese and international students and friends to have opportunities to fully experience the charm of China and to enhance mutual trust, understanding and friendship.
Making dumplings
At the event, Huang Ping and his wife, together with students made dumplings, enjoyed lantern riddles, calligraphy and raffle draws. Wonderful performances were presented, including Peking opera and western opera, Erhu and piano, song and dance, ended by a chorus "My Motherland and I" by Huang Ping and Chinese diplomats.
Chinese calligraphies
Lantern riddles
Hosts
Girls group dance by Rutgers University
Piano Solo: Liuyang Rive by Qi Xu, The Juilliard School
Soprano solo: Peking Opera Aria, the Pearl Shirt by Hanxing Gao, Weill Cornell Medicine
A Cappella: Lotus Lantern by Yale University
Tenor solo: Sunset Boulevard by Yiming Sun, Chinese Consulate General in New York
Chinese Dance solo: My Motherland by Nikita Tang, Columbia University
Tenor solo: Departing One by Yuan Jun, New Jersey Institute of Technology
Mixed Chorus: Love, in the heart by New York University
Instrumental ensemble: Horse Racing by Princeton University
Dance Solo: The Moment of Delay by Nina Peng The Juilliard School
Soprano solo: The Best Song for My Motherland by Tianyue Xu, Columbia University
Chorus: My Motherland and I by Consul General Huang Ping and the diplomats
Media such as People's Daily, Xinhua News Agency, China Media Group, China Daily, China News Service, The China Press, Sing Tao Daily, Chinese Radio Network and Sino Vision were present.