On the morning of December 2, 2017, the opening ceremony of the 2017 Winter Camp for Lao and Cambodian students of Hainan University was held at the International Student Cultural Experience Center on the first floor of the International Student Apartment Building No. 15 of the university. Yang Yunsheng, Dean of the School of International Cultural Exchange of Hainan University, Yang Zhixin, Deputy Director of the Office of International Cooperation and Exchange, Li Xiaobei, Deputy Dean of the School of International Cultural Exchange, POON YU ZHEN FELICIA, leader of the Lao student delegation, PHAN HEANG, leader of the Cambodian student delegation, and some teacher representatives and student campers attended the opening ceremony. The opening ceremony was hosted by Li Ting, Vice President of the School of International Cultural Exchange.

In his welcome speech, Dean Yang Yunsheng began by extending a warm welcome to the campers from Laos and Cambodia. He said, in July this year, Hainan University and the Royal University of Agriculture in Cambodia signed the "Agreement between Hainan University of China and the Royal University of Agriculture in Cambodia on the establishment of Hainan University's Chinese Language Teaching Centre in Cambodia", which includes the next five years, Hainan University will invest special funds to support the operation of the Chinese Language Teaching Centre, for Cambodia to train 1000 students to learn Chinese; Hainan University will through the Chinese government scholarship Hainan University will provide 100 full scholarship places for Cambodian students to study degrees at Hainan University through Chinese government scholarships, Hainan provincial government scholarships and Hainan University scholarships. In November this year, the opening ceremony of the Laos branch of Hainan University was held at the Laos Babasa Institute of Technology, and the two universities also signed the Memorandum of Understanding on Inter-university Relations between Hainan University and the Laos Babasa Institute of Technology, which includes the following five years, Hainan University will provide 100 full scholarships for Lao students to study degrees at Hainan University through Chinese government scholarships, Hainan provincial government scholarships and Hainan University scholarships In addition, Hainan University will sponsor 200 Lao students to come to Hainan for winter and summer camps. Dean Yang pointed out that this is the first winter camp for Laotian and Cambodian students held by the university. The School of International Cultural Exchange will try its best to create the best learning and living environment for the campers, so that they can feel at home, integrate into campus life as soon as possible, learn more about Chinese traditional culture and local customs of Hainan, make more new friends and taste more food. We also hope that the students will study hard, apply for the Hainan University scholarship programme, come back to Hainan University to further their studies and meet old friends.

POON YU ZHEN FELICIA, the leader of the Lao student delegation, and PHAN HEANG, the leader of the Cambodian student delegation, spoke at the opening ceremony. They thanked Hainan University for providing them with this valuable opportunity to study in Hainan, and also thanked the leaders and teachers of the School of International Cultural Exchange for their warm reception and thoughtful arrangements, hoping that the students would learn, observe and experience with their hearts, and appreciate the richness of Chinese culture and its profound heritage.

A total of 21 campers from Laos and Cambodia attended a week-long winter camp at Hainan University from 1st December to 7th December. The School of International Cultural Exchange has developed a variety of Chinese language courses and a rich cultural programme for this winter camp, expecting them to gain a deeper understanding of traditional Chinese culture and to improve their Chinese language skills significantly.

Fig. 1 The opening ceremony

Fig. 2 Members of the Lao and Cambodian student delegations attending the opening ceremony

Fig. 3 Pan Kim Li (right), leader of the Cambodian student delegation, presents a souvenir to the Institute of International Cultural Exchange (left is Dean Yang Yunsheng)

Fig. 4 Group photo of leaders, guests, campers and teachers at the opening ceremony