SEU Story | A Special Bond with China

Editor's Note:

Zaynab Ali, a girl from Syria, is currently studying for her PhD Degree in Art Theory at SEU. Her family has been living in China for several years and she has two twin brothers who are studying in Nanjing as well. Her story with China can date back to forty years ago. Let’s step into her special experiences in China.

In 1990, Zaynab's mother, who was pregnant with the three siblings, had a dream, where her soul flowed to the top of the highest mountain in China. Since then, her family has started their story with China.

She was born in a family of art. Her father is an excellent artist and worked as a TV decoration designer in Syrian National Television. He has held many exhibitions under the theme of "The Belt and Road" in China, Syria and many other countries. Her mother is a journalist and writer serving Syrian National Television. Besides, she is also working as an adviser for Syrian Ministry of Media. When Zaynab was very young, her parents often played traditional Chinese music from the tapes sent by a Chinese friend who was working in the Chinese embassy in Syria. Soon afterwards a panda doll and many traditional Chinese story books were represented to them by their Chinese friends. She has been exposed to Chinese culture since her childhood.

"All the stories and music tapes we received in Syria were like a dream and now it has become our reality, our life."

After the three of them grew up, they came to China for further study. Her two brothers Zein and Ali are pursuing the PhD and master's degree respectively at Nanjing University of the Arts, while she preferred to study at SEU for a PhD in Art Theory.

In addition to studying music and flute, she was also a ballet dancer in her childhood.

After she graduated from two universities in Syria with two Bachelor's Degrees in Fine Art and Theater respectively, she was once working at Syrian National Television for 7 years as director for movies, television programs and documentaries etc.  

In 2015, she produced her first short movie titled Prova sun Game n'1 with the Syrian Organization of Cinema, which was written and directed by herself. Besides, she was also engaged in costume design,  scenography and  location decoration. The movie has been on in many international movie festivals with prize won. 

What's more, she and her family are always active in the art exhibition of "The Belt and Road." She really appreciates it that China has helped many countries including his motherland Syria, so she feels glad to live in China with her family and will make bigger steps on the Silk Road from Syria to China.

"I think I have tried all kinds of arts, which is a must for a modern artist. For me, art is a reason for life. I will be exploring the field forever."

"I think SEU highlights a long history of excellence in education, where I hope to learn advanced knowledge, and then return to our country to share my knowledge and experience that I have learned here. I also expect to function as a bridge for cultural exchanges between China and Syria."

On the way to fulfilling the dream, Zaynab determined to study for a PhD in Art Theory at SEU. She was deeply attracted by SEU for its high educational standard. What's more, SEU's major of Art Theory is highly distinguished in the area of art.

She finds herself treated like a family member in her class, even though she is the only foreigner in the class. She recalls that her classmates and tutors always offer her a lot of assistance in both life and study. At the same time, Zaynab feels very lucky and proud to have such a great mentor, who is always helping and encouraging her. To her surprise, her mentor presented her his book written by himself as a gift.

"Thanks to the Chinese government for giving me this precious opportunity to study in China, and to every teacher at SEU, from School of Art, from the International Office and all my classmates for their kind and generous assistance."

The experience of living in China has enabled her to feel more deeply attached to this country. She has early regarded China as her second hometown. Therefore, she, like all Chinese, has been fully supporting China's anti-pandemic efforts after the pandemic outbreak.

"When the pandemic just broke out, many foreign media presented fake news about the status quo in China. I felt obliged to tell people what the reality was in China."

Therefore, she applied her professional knowledge to share diversified self-made videos and words with foreign people on various social media platforms, where she described how Chinese people were united to fight against Covid-19 and how Chinese government and medical teams strived to control the virus. In addition, she also posted an article how SEU guided students to protect themselves during the quarantine in a step-by-step manner.

"I hope that the stories and videos I shared can help many people recognize China's efforts in the epidemic and show everyone a more real China."

Now Zaynab is preparing to make videos about Chinese culture, hoping to contribute to the spread and popularity of Chinese culture.

Editor's note:

After my interview with Zaynab, I was shocked by her profound experience and moved by all her efforts for the good of China. I hope she can enjoy the time in China and continuously write her stories about China in the future.