Summer School on Russian-Chinese Business: Cultural and Legal Aspects

Last week, the Summer School on Russian-Chinese Business: Cultural and Legal Aspects came to an end. The School saw the participation of students from HSE Nizhny Novgorod and from the Southwest University of Political Science and Law (SWUPL) in Chongqing, China. We met with all of the School’s participants to see what they had to say.

‘This is the second of such Schools that HSE has hosted. This year, we had more students come to the School, meaning that interest is growing in these kinds of schools. I am absolutely certain that the Summer School was beneficial and interesting to not only our Chinese friends, but to our own students as well. I was pleased to see students sharing opinions, discussing the differences between Chinese and Russian law and culture, teaching each other languages, and hanging out after class. In September, we are going with the students to a similar school at the Southwest University of Political Science and Law. This year’s group not only included students from the Faculty of Law, but also undergrads from other faculties as well, meaning there are even more students interested in China. Cooperation between our two universities is clearly expanding, which is also shown by the fact that two girls from SWUPL are coming here to study abroad for a year. We are excited to have them,’ says Olga Berzin, Deputy Dean for Research and Innovation, Faculty of Law (HSE Nizhny Novgorod).

Professor Jang Yanven 

This is my first trip to Russia. The city is wonderful, the people are kind, and the girls are gorgeous! While in Nizhny Novgorod, we went on excursions and got to see the city’s past. I think that the walks we took after class allowed our learning to take place in a friendly atmosphere. After class, we often stayed to discuss the interesting things we learned and compare them with China. We were particularly fond of our lectures with Maria Loshkareva on the history of law.

 

Wang Weihen

We got to Nizhny late on an extremely cold night, which was my first shock. We were met by Anastasia, an open and kind Faculty of Law student. I liked her the moment I saw her. Then I met the professors and lecturers. The Summer School’s classes were interesting, and it was easy for me to understand everything they were staying in class. The School’s students and instructors tried to show us interesting places, and they told us about things we didn’t know about. Overall, they just gave us a lot of help and support, which left a nice impression. In addition, I realized how comfortable I was in Nizhny Novgorod, and I liked the weather more (it’s not that hot here). The biggest thing I’ll remember though is the food. In China, we usually eat rice with chopsticks, but here we ate pizza, soup, and salad using spoons and forks.

 

Ma Chinyi

We traveled a lot during the Summer School. I really liked our excursion to the museum in Schelkovsky Village, where I first saw the culture and daily life of the Russian people. Everything is completely different from China. We played old Russian games with the HSE students, which was fun. This was the beginning of our friendship with the Russian students. I also liked our classes. I learned about Russian law and culture, and I even picked up a little language as well. Of all our excursions, I particularly remember the building of a state bank on the central street. Itlookedmorelikeapalacethanabank.

I really want to come back here; it’s impossible to really see and learn everything about Russia in such a short period of time. I like quiet cities like Nizhny Novgorod. It’s truly a beautiful city, and it’s not at all like Chongqing.