At the invitation of the People"s Government of Harbin, within the framework of twinning relations, an official delegation of the city of Murmansk paid a visit to Harbin from 14 to 18 August this year to hold negotiations on the development of cooperation between our cities and in order to participate in the II Chinese-Russian Festival of Culture and Art " ...
To participate in the festival, among the participants of which are such renowned artists and groups as Valery Gergiev and the Mariinsky Theater Orchestra, the city administration of Murmansk organized a performance by the creative team of MBOU DO Children"s School of Arts No. 4 of the City of Murmansk.
The performance of Murmansk artists took place on August 15 on the square near the Victory Monument over the 1957 Flood, with a significant number of spectators. Considering that this place itself is a popular recreation place for townspeople and tourists, and also thanks to the information work of the People"s Government of the city of Harbin, at least three thousand people gathered to watch the performance of Murmansk artists.
When the melodies of the last number of the program sounded and all the members of the Murmansk creative team came out on stage to bow, the square was drowned in applause for a long time, and the audience tried to take pictures and personally thank the artists for the unforgettable performance.
For more than an hour, after the end of the performance, the flow of spectators to the stage did not subside, and the members of the creative team and teachers received not only letters of gratitude on behalf of the Department of Culture and Foreign Affairs Office of the People"s Government of Harbin, but also truly vivid and memorable impressions of the trip and performance.
The Chinese side received an invitation to take part in the International Festival-Creative Laboratory among children and youth amateur theater groups "Grani 2018", which will be held in Murmansk from 22 to 26 February 2018. This will allow not only to demonstrate to the residents of the city of Murmansk the performance of Chinese artists, but also open up new prospects for the further development of relations.
Issues of joint projects in the field of education were especially discussed. The Chinese side confirmed their readiness to implement the agreement on the opening of the Confucius Class in Murmansk, reached during the visit of the Harbin delegation to Murmansk in May 2016. This project involves the study of the Chinese language and culture in Murmansk on the basis of the Murmansk International Lyceum. The classes will be conducted by certified teachers from the PRC. At the moment, the documents have been prepared by the Chinese side and are being coordinated in Beijing.
Also, the Chinese side presented the experience of organizing the exchange of schoolchildren on the example of cooperation with Khabarovsk. Thus, schoolchildren studying Chinese have the opportunity to live and study in Harbin for 10-14 days, in addition, in addition to the curriculum, the host will also organize cultural and entertainment events. The possibility of implementing a similar project with Murmansk has also been accepted for consideration by both parties.
In order to develop cooperation in the field of sports, representatives of the People"s Government of the city of Harbin handed over to the Murmansk delegation an official invitation to the fourth Harbin International Children"s Hockey Tournament during the 33rd International Snow and Ice Festival in Harbin. The tournament is scheduled to be held from 11 to 14 January 2018. The host party assumes the costs associated with the stay of the team in the city of Harbin.
In addition to interaction in the social sphere, the Chinese side expressed significant interest in organizing the supply of fish products from Murmansk to Harbin and in expanding cooperation in order to develop tourism, noting the high popularity of Murmansk as a tourist destination among Chinese citizens.
Murmansk delegation visited the Palace of Pioneers of Harbin, the Bolshoi Theater of Harbin, the natural park "Island of the Sun", the museum of urban design of Harbin.
Thanks to this visit, the parties confirmed their aspiration for the mutually beneficial development of twinning relations, and the speech of students and teachers of MBOU DO "Children"s Art School No. 4 of Murmansk" was the first step in the practical realization of the potential of cooperation between our cities.
