Sydney, 3 Mar (ZXS) -- Reporter's Notes: Sydney's Chinese elements
China News Agency reporter Gu Shihong
March in Beijing is the beginning of autumn in Sydney. The plane skimmed over the Harbour Bridge and the white shell-shaped Opera House, and slowly and smoothly landed at Sydney International Airport, where the local Chinese Wu Meng Ni was already waiting.
Stepping into this beautiful Binhai International Airport, you will see Chinese signs such as "baggage claim", "exchange", "carpool and pick-up", "parking", "arrival" and "departure" in English, making the Chinese to Sydney warm and friendly.
In the aisles where luggage is claimed, duty-free shops and bustling people, Chinese conversations are heard from time to time.
The reporter saw that on the huge electronic screen showing the flight dynamics, Chinese advertisements also brushed the screen from time to time, flashing continuously, which was quite eye-catching. In the duty-free shops lining the aisle, some have "value for money" Chinese signboards in front of the doors that say "value for money".
Before the outbreak of the new crown epidemic, Sydney International Airport achieved direct flights to 17 Chinese cities, and nearly 180 round-trip flights a week increased the connection between the people of China and Australia. So far, China and Australia have established more than 100 pairs of sister provinces, states and cities. Since the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Australia more than 1972 years ago, the bilateral trade volume between the two countries has jumped from less than US$1 million at the beginning of the establishment of diplomatic relations in 2021 to US$2300 billion in <>. China has become Australia's largest trading partner, largest source of inbound tourists, largest tourism consumer and largest source of international students.
"Australia's multicultural background, China's strong economic strength and market prospects make Chinese an indispensable element in many areas in Australia, which may be the reason why Sydney International Airport has many Chinese logos." Wu Meng Ni said.
She came to Australia from Beijing in the early 20s of the 90th century, telling reporters: "Chinese have come to Australia for more than 200 years. Of Australia's states, Sydney has the longest and strongest people-to-people ties with China. Today, more and more people in NSW are learning Chinese, and many schools offer Chinese courses. Chinese has become the second most widely spoken language in Australia. ”
On the drive to the center of Sydney, Wu Meng Ni talked about the Chinese elements here: Chinatown Chinese restaurants, Chinese shops and Chinese medicine clinics; The Jiangnan water town-style garden "Yiyuan", which symbolizes the friendship between China and Australia, has pavilions and modern high-rise buildings; Not far from Hyde Park, the Chinese Cultural Center stands; The famous Madame Tussauds has wax figures of Chinese movie star Jackie Chan and more.
When passing by the University of Technology Sydney, she pointed to a specially shaped building on the side of the road and said: "This is the Dr. Zhou Zerong Building built by Zhou Zerong, a Chinese native of Guangdong who donated 2000 million Australian dollars to the Business School of the University of Technology Sydney. ”
She said that this is the first landmark building in Australia to be named after an outstanding Chinese. The building's wavy façade with square windows looks like crumpled paper bags, which, like the Sydney Opera House and the Harbour Bridge, has become a new tourist check-in point and a typical symbol of the great contribution of Chinese to the Australian education sector. (End)