This morning we visited Marseilles Opera House. In the afternoon we arrived at Marseilles City Hall where we attended the welcome ceremony. Also in attendance were Deputy Mayor of Marseilles and the Chinese Consul-General to Marseilles. Later on, we toured the nearby Cultural Museum with European and Mediterranean features as well as Marseilles Cathedral.
Specifically, before 2 P.M., all our teachers and students got to Marseilles City Hall where all the students and their host families also arrived on time. In attendance were Deputy Mayor of Marseilles, the Chinese Consul-General to Marseilles in addition to some other officials with the City Hall. Teacher Fu introduced us and our Chinese Consul-General to Marseilles helped the translation and exchange work.
At 2 P.M., the welcome ceremony started on schedule. First of all, Deputy Mayor of Marseilles delivered a keynote speech in which he made a brief presentation in regard to the general situation of Marseilles, Sino-French relations and the twin-city relations between Marseilles and Shanghai. Furthermore, he expressed sincere welcome to our arrival and expected the exchange between Chinese and French students would further develop in the future to better promote the friendship between China and France.
Second of all, Mr Zhu Liying, the Chinese Consul-General to Marseilles made a keynote speech in which he initially spoke in Chinese and then repeated in French. Mr. Zhu Liying further introduced the intimate relationship between France and China as well as Marseilles and Shanghai. Then, he thought highly of this informative event and expressed his thankfulness to the two French schools and the host families in the meantime!
Last but not the least, Anqing Foreign Language School’s Vice Principal Liu Bing was invited to make a speech in which he mentioned that France was a great country and Marseilles was the city with the longest history in France with dense historical culture and picturesque landscape. The study trip to Marseilles received meticulous care and attention from French friends, which made all of us delightful and benefited us a lot! Afterwards, Vice Principal Liu Bing expressed his thanks to teacher Fu, who translated throughout the whole journey and put herself out of the way to take good care of us. Moreover, the thanks were extended to the principal, all the teachers and students who warmly received us, the host families who meticulously received us, the little companions who accompanied us friendly, Marseilles City Hall which held a welcome ceremony for us in addition to Deputy Mayor of Marseilles, Mr. Zhu Liying, the Chinese Consul-General to Marseilles and all the other attendees from the ceremony! Meanwhile, Vice Principal Liu Bing invited our French friends to pay a guest visit to Anqing Foreign Language School!
After the welcome ceremony, the City Hall presented each teacher and student souvenirs and prepared refreshments for us. In addition, we talked freely to our heart’s content and were honored to take a group photo to mark the occasion in the City Hall with Deputy Mayor of Marseilles, Mr. Zhu Liying, the Chinese Consul-General to Marseilles and other leaders.
In a word, we attended such high standard reception beyond our expectation and would like to thank all the people who made great efforts to receive and help us.