By Cai Shaowei

On April 23rd, the Portuguese Corner was held in the library on schedule. The topic was “The Differences between Traveling in China and the West”. The overseas teacher who attended the activity was Ms. Sara Guimaraes. The exchange students from Portugal and many students participated in it.

Sara told the students the railway was the first choice when she was traveling in China. What impressed her most was a trip by train from Guangzhou to Beijing, which lasted more than twenty hours. She said she was totally exhausted when she arrived. And then, she asked the students what transportation they would choose to travel in China. Most of students said they would travel by plane. On the one hand, China''s land area is large, and the aircraft will be far faster than the train or bus; on the other hand, if you book in advance, ticket prices will be relatively low. However, Luis，an exchange student from Portugal said most people chose to travel by train when traveling in Europe, because the tickets were cheap and the environment was also pretty good.

As for travel accommodation, Sara said she was attracted by the hotel in Suzhou. She described the hotel as a “beautiful environment with unique Chinese feature”. She told the students that she really liked the China’s antique and traditional styles. In fact, she didn’t like the hotel in Hong Kong, because the price was high but the room was quite small. An exchange student from Portugal also said that in Europe, even the price of the hotel was cheap, the living condition was much better than in Hong Kong.

Through traveling, you might know more about the local culture, or you might get a chance to experience different life styles. But more importantly, you could gain the insight into the culture differences, which will not only increase your knowledge, but also broaden your horizon.

Joining the Portuguese Corner is a chance to learn more about culture differences, why not participate in this activity?

Proofread by Zhang Wenhui