Event Review｜Dining@SJTU #01

Shanghai Jiao Tong University successfully hosted the first Dining@SJTU Global Chat over Lunch cross-cultural exchange event of the 2025 spring semester!

Shanghai in March: A Cascade of Spring Vitality

To foster multicultural integration and create an international exchange platform for faculty and students, a heartwarming cross-cultural dialogue—with spring as its herald—unfolded by Hanze Lake on the Minhang Campus. On March 25, 2025, the semester's inaugural Dining@SJTU Global Chat over Lunch event was successfully held at the sunlit terrace of the Student Center. Featuring special guest Professor Zhang Xiaoqiao (with a decade of lived experience in the U.S.), the gathering attracted 13 students from 11 countries—including China, Canada, Russia, Egypt, Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, and Morocco—representing diverse disciplines from electronics and humanities to medicine and business administration. The atmosphere brimmed with warmth and lively exchange.

Bathed in sunshine, participants engaged in profound discussions on cultural backgrounds, personal interests and experiences, and the challenges and rewards of cross-cultural adaptation. Professor Zhang shared perceptive observations on Sino-American sociocultural differences through her lived experience, encouraging students to embrace diversity with open minds. International students enthusiastically recounted hometown festival traditions, culinary customs, and linguistic anecdotes—their stories weaving a vibrant tapestry of global perspectives.

During the event, students not only shared their cross-cultural adaptation experiences and insights but also expressed hopes for future campus activities. Peeyakorn, a Thai doctoral student at the Law School, discussed her experiences in both China and Thailand, highlighting the outstanding contributions of SJTU’s Thai alumni. She expressed enthusiasm for more regular cross-cultural events to bring people together and looked forward to introducing her country’s culture to peers from around the world. Nashwa, from Egypt, shared how she began learning Chinese as a child and voiced her eagerness to engage with more Chinese and international students during her time in China. Li Zhibo, a student from the School of Education, remarked how thrilled he was to participate in such a cross-cultural event, which strengthened his global competence. He even planned to invite the international students he met to go rock climbing together.

This cross-cultural exchange event successfully established a well-rounded educational platform, fostering deeper intercultural understanding and engagement among faculty and students. As the spring sun shone down, the event broke through language barriers, allowing different cultural perspectives to interweave seamlessly—like the gentle rain of Shanghai in March. This dialogue across borders not only strengthened mutual understanding among Chinese and international students but also further reinforced the cultural bonds within the SJTU community. See you at the next session!