VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

A number of Indonesian students in Nanning, China, performed a play to promote Sundanese (West Java) culture, with a title "Sangkuriang dan Tujuh Bidadari," or literally meaning "Sangkuriang and the Seven Beautiful Angels."

"Every year, we perform an art play, and this year, we have selected the Sundanese culture," the chairperson of the Indonesian Students Association (PPI) of Nanning, Annisa Harapuspa, told Antara in Beijing on Tuesday.

She stated that the cultural party of "Portray of Sundanese" was held on Saturday (June 9) night at a Concert Hall of the Faculty of Art, Guangxi University for Nationalities (GUN).

The performance began with a fashion show of traditional dresses brought by Chinese students who majored in Bahasa Indonesia.

"We did not expect the audience`s enthusiasm to be so high that we could not accommodate them in the hall," Harapuspa, who was accompanied by Khanti Brillianty, as the organizer of "Portray of Sundanese," noted.

Seventy Indonesian students and Chinese students were involved in the event, which was held at the Capital of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region bordering with Vietnam.

Some of the honorary guests who attended the event were Indonesian Consul General in Guangzhou Gustanto, Dean of Education Faculty at GUN Cui Wan`an, former mayor of Nanning Ke Ziqing, Vice Dean of Southeast Asian Language and Culture Faculty of GUN Lu Jinqiang, and Deputy Director of International Department of GUN Zhang Xinlei.

"We want to introduce Sundanese culture to Chinese people, especially in Nanning," Harapuspa revealed.

Indonesian Consul General Gustanto expressed hope that Indonesian students would continue to promote Indonesian traditional cultures through art performances.

"Of course, I appreciate cultural events like this, so that the diversity of our traditional cultures would widely be known in foreign countries," he added.

GUN is the first university in Nanning which has an Indonesian Language (Bahasa Indonesia) department. To date, there are about 200 students from several areas in mainland China who major in Bahasa Indonesia at the largest university in Guangxi.

The enthusiasm among Chinese students to study Indonesian is very high. Hundreds of students majoring in Indonesian at GUN participated in the selection of Dharmasiswa scholarship program 2018, which was held by the Education Attach? of the Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia in Beijing and the RI Consulate General of RI in Guangzhou some time ago.

The Dharmasiswa program awardees have an opportunity to learn Indonesian language for one year at several universities in Indonesia funded by the Ministry of Education and Culture of Indonesia and get allowance during their study in the country. (ANTARA)