The Office of the Leading Group for the Promotion of Chinese Language Internationalization (referred to as the National Office for Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language, or the "National Hanban") began a nationwide selection process in March of this year. After multiple rounds of open selection, written tests, interviews, and training assessments, 540 individuals were ultimately chosen to serve as dispatched Chinese language teachers for Confucius Institutes/Classrooms around the world in 2014.

Teacher Guo Fei from the Ideological and Political Education Research Office of the Basic and Public Courses Department at our college was selected by the National Hanban and dispatched to teach Chinese at the Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar (IITGN) for a two-year term. Teacher Guo Fei arrived in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India, on September 1st, 2014, and smoothly took up her post at IITGN, immediately commencing her teaching duties.

IITGN has over 900 students, and the new semester began in early August. This semester, the university offered two foreign language elective courses: French and Chinese. Despite visa issues that prevented Teacher Guo Fei from registering during the initial rush of the new semester, 66 students still chose to switch from their other classes to enroll in the Chinese course after its commencement, demonstrating the strong appeal and attraction of Chinese culture.

According to Teacher Guo Fei, her motivation for participating in the dispatched Chinese language teacher program stems from her strong identification with China’s "Cultural Power Dream" during her long-term engagement in ideological and political teaching. Coupled with her background in English education, she hopes to actively contribute to promoting the profound and extensive Chinese culture. Based on this, after consultation between Teacher Guo and the Indian institute’s leadership, the course was ultimately named "Chinese Language and Chinese Culture."

During her assignment, Teacher Guo Fei could clearly sense that China is now perceived by people around the world as both a mysterious ancient nation and a promising emerging world power. Almost everyone is curious about and yearns to learn Chinese language and culture. Chinese characters, calligraphy, kung fu, tai chi, traditional Chinese medicine, pandas... Each symbol of Chinese culture can spark immense interest among Indian students. Therefore, as a member of the dispatched teachers, Teacher Guo Fei, immersed in the global trend of "China fever," feels immense pride and a strong sense of responsibility. She is determined to use this precious two-year period to showcase as much of China’s cultural charm as possible to the students at IITGN. By using culture as a bond, she aims to enhance these elite Indian students’ affection and love for China, contributing her part to China’s "Cultural Power Dream."