Chinese Embassy to Kenya hosted Alliance and Kenya high school students on Wednesday to celebrate the eve of the Chinese traditional festival and inform them of the opportunities they have in China.
The feast, known as the Dragon Boat Festival is celebrated in commemoration of the ancient poet Qu Yuan, by holding dragon boat races and eating sticky rice dumplings called zongzi.
Chinese Ambassador to Kenya Zhou Pingjian who led the event said they are happy that the students will have a feel of China working with Kenya.
"It's a friendship visit and we are open to exploring ways of corporation with the schools and the Confucius institutes. The goal of the visit is to have a feel about the Chinese Embassy working in Kenya," Pingjian said.
"We really appreciate your presence here with us and we believe this kind of exchange will proceed further understanding between China and Kenya. I wish this can be a good start to your interest in China."
He urged the students to see China as a destination for higher learning and use the opportunity to their benefit.
"Kenyan friends and particularly young people in the Kenya High School, Alliance High School have many options. I would be glad if you could consider China as one of your options," Pingjian said.
He said the future of Kenya lies in hands of the young people.
The students also had a chance to interact with the Ambassador and ask various questions regarding China's partnership with Kenya and its advantages.
Pingjian urged the students to consider China as an outlet for key developments such as health, food security, manufacturing, agricultural science, affordable housing, and technology.
"If you want to be an academician, you may choose China for every subject. But if you want to use your knowledge on development areas, China is a great option compared to those subjects," he said.
The Ambassador said China and Kenya corporation is not only about infrastructure development but covers all the other aspects including higher education.
"Infrastructure corporation is always more visible but we have a huge potential in other areas that may not be more visible. There are some new initiatives from the EU government and there are huge potentials in those areas," Pingjian said.
Further, he added that China wants to address the real issues facing Kenyans through its own style.
"Why China and Kenya? China and Africa are so close to each other because we share a lot. We want to address the real issues facing Mwananchi like food, health, housing, and work. We Chinese work hard because we want to address those issues in the Chinese way," Pingjian said.
"Once we focus on the real issues and we find our own way to address them, there will always be a bright future."
Kenya High School head of Languages Department Irene Omangi who was also in attendance urged the students to grab the opportunity and find out what China is doing that is making them thrive.
"Girls and boys, take advantage. There are very many schools out there that would have wanted to be part of the activity to visit the Chinese Embassy. Now that you have the privileged to be here, take advantage and learn as much as possible. We are looking up to you to change this country," Omangi said.
Also in attendance at the forum was the director of the Confucius Institute, University of Nairobi Wang Shangxue who gave a brief history of the dragon boat feast.
The late Qu Yuan was a poet and minister of the ancient state of Chu during the warring states period of the Zhou dynasty.
When the king decided to ally with the increasingly powerful state of Qin, Qu who was serving in the high offices, was banished for opposing the alliance and even accused of treason.
During his exile, Qu Yuan wrote a great deal of poetry for which he is now remembered.
Eventually, Qin conquered the capital of Chu known as Ying.
In despair, Qu Yuan committed suicide by drowning himself in a river on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month which marks the festival of the dragon boat.
"Qu Yuan felt so upset and sorrow about his country and his people that on the lunar May fifth, he threw himself into the Miluo River and such ended his life," Shangxue said.
The local people who admired him, raced out in their boats to save him, or at least retrieve his body. This is said to have been the origin of dragon boat races.
"When his body could not be found, they dropped balls of sticky rice into the river so that the fish would eat them instead of Qu Yuan's body, displaying the origin of zongzi," Shangxue said.
Also in attendance at the forum was the chief principal of Alliance High School David Kamau and director of information and public affairs of Chinese Embassy Liu Zhenyu.