Published on: 2026-07-03
Source: Saint Petersburg State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering –
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At the end of the academic year, foreign students of the preparatory department of SPbGASU visited several exciting excursions around St. Petersburg and its suburbs. These rich and informative routes became a wonderful conclusion to the academic season and allowed the students to recharge with vivid impressions before the summer holidays.
On June 5, some Chinese students were fortunate to attend a meeting and autograph session with the famous Chinese writer Mo Yan, the 2012 Nobel Prize laureate in Literature. To get a coveted autograph on a favorite book by a writer from their homeland in Petersburg—they had never even dreamed of this before. The significant event was held by the Petersburg bookstore “Podpisnye izdaniya,” which is celebrating its centenary this year, with the support of the Alexandrinsky Theatre, which initiated the invitation of the Chinese writer to the premiere of the play based on his work “Tired of Being Born and Dying.” From the interview with Mo Yan, the students learned that Petersburg seemed a familiar city to him because he had read a lot of Dostoevsky. Another of his favorite writers is Mikhail Sholokhov: the novel “And Quiet Flows the Don” made one of the strongest impressions on him.
On the same day, another group of foreign students from the preparatory department went on a tour of the Summer Garden. The tourists listened with great interest to the teacher’s story about the history of the garden and its landscape features. According to the students, this oldest park in the city will undoubtedly become their favorite place for summer walks. On June 11, the same group of students visited the Russian Museum, where they got acquainted with the masterpieces of Russian artists.
On June 8, Chinese listeners from the preparatory department also visited the Russian Museum. The students viewed the main exhibition and the temporary exhibition “The Great”. For many foreign students, this excursion was their first introduction to Russian visual art.
After successfully passing the Russian language exams, two groups of Chinese students from the preparatory department went on an excursion to Pushkin. The journey began at Vitebsky railway station, where the students learned about the development of railways in Russia. In the park, they compared the Catherine Palace and the Hermitage with the Winter Palace, walked along the alleys, fed ducks and squirrels, learned about the Russo-Turkish wars, talked about famous philosophers in the Cameron Gallery, and visited the palace, where they admired the interiors of the royal apartments, the ballroom, and, of course, the Amber Room.
And students from another group were lucky to attend a theatrical fashion show. This vibrant performance takes place annually in Catherine Park. This year, the theme of the event, “Beauty Unites,” was dedicated to the Year of Unity of the Peoples of Russia. Four Russian designers from Moscow, Kazan, Murmansk, and Nizhny Novgorod presented their new collections, with the main emphasis on the cultural diversity of our country. The collection by the Kazan designer impressed the students the most; it referred viewers to traditional Tatar costumes. The main “highlight” of the collection was the “chulpy” — ringing Tatar jewelry woven into the hair. The show was accompanied by the live ringing of these antique ornaments and the playing of ancient national instruments.
The June tours concluded the cycle of foreign preparatory department students’ introductions to Saint Petersburg, but did not exhaust it. We hope that next year, already as bachelors and master’s students of our university, the students will independently get acquainted with the masterpieces of our beloved city!
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