Lately, 28 Chinese college students on state-subsidized student loans and 28 American high school students gathered in Beijing to attend the 3rd "Rainbow Bridge" Chinese-Foreign Students Cultural Exchange Program exclusively sponsored by BOC, embarking on their cross-cultural exchange journey.
The Chinese and American students visited the BOC Head Office Building designed by Leoh Ming Pei, a world-famous Chinese American architect; felt the beauty of the traditional Chinese culture in the "Hall of Four Seasons" displaying the landscape architecture of China; witnessed the fast-changing global market conditions in China's biggest foreign exchange trading room; sensed the solemn commitment of BOC in front of the country's biggest safe deposit box bank; and experienced in person its considerate services by exchanging small-amount foreign currency in its spacious and bright business lobby.
Chinese and American Students Visited the Hall of Four Seasons and Posed for a Group Photo
American Students Visited the Safe Deposit Box Bank of BOC
The 28 Chinese students, all with outstanding academic performance and good qualities but financially-strapped background, come from 28 colleges in 20 autonomous regions, cities and provinces across the country. They will go to the US to visit prestigious universities there including Harvard, Yale and MIT; the National Gallery of Art, the Kennedy Center, the Library of Congress and the World Bank from July 31 to August 20. During this period, they will also visit the nearly 80-year-old BOC New York Branch.
The 28 American high school students with similar academic and financial background from New York, Washington and Seattle will also take part in a series of activities that will enable them to understand the history, culture and actual conditions of China, including learning Chinese Kungfu, calligraphy, seal-cutting and ethnic dancing, making Peking Opera facial masks, having social gatherings with schools for the children of migrant workers, orphanages, and schools for the disabled, visiting renowned cultural tourist attractions, famous Chinese enterprises and China-based American institutions.
American Students Presented Their Hand-made Paper-cuts to BOC and China Next Generation Education Foundation
Chinese and American Students Learning Tai Chi
In 2012, at the 100th anniversary of its establishment, BOC, for the first time, exclusively funded the "Rainbow Bridge" Chinese and American Students Cultural Exchange Program jointly initiated by China Next Generation Education Foundation and Americans Promoting Study Abroad. So far the program has been running for three years, benefiting 156 outstanding students from both countries, many of whom have chosen to pursue further studies in each other's country, and made greater contribution to cultural dissemination and exchanges between the two nations.
As the only centenarian financial enterprise and most internationalized bank in China, BOC has always committed itself to "Serving Society, Delivering Excellence", to repay and make contributions to the society. In 2008, BOC became the only banking partner of the Beijing Olympic Games and perfectly completed all the tasks related to the event. In 2012, BOC became a senior strategic partner of the 3rd Asian Beach Games, and provided all-round financial services to the players and spectators from Asian countries. Since 1999, the Bank has undertaken the state-subsidized student loan program, disbursing around RMB20 billion student loans in total, and bankrolling the education of over 1.6 million financially-strapped students. In 2010, the Bank was invited to sit on the board of directors of the Lincoln Center, becoming the first Chinese enterprise serving a key role in the board of a world-leading art institution. On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and France, the Bank supported the exhibition of the collections of the Louvre in China, and promoted bilateral cultural exchanges.
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