Bhubaneswar, Nov. 21: A delegation of nearly 100 students and professionals from China, who are on a two-day visit to the state, went to the Sun Temple at Konark today.
The youths, who are in the city as part of an international exchange programme, had a busy day collecting souvenirs and taking selfies. After the sightseeing at Konark, the group visited the nearby villages, where a number of voluntary organisations gave them a warm welcome.
A number of cultural events, including the Gotipua dance, were also organised for the guests to provide them an idea about the culture and traditional practices of the state.
On their return journey to Bhubaneswar, the delegates visited Raghurajpur and bought several sets of patta chitra paintings.
"What I found very interesting is that most food joints everywhere had 'Chinese food' written on them," said Bingwen, one of the visitors.
Officials who are co-ordinating the event said that although there was provision for Chinese food in the menu, the delegates preferred Indian cuisine.
"I think most of us liked the paratha, naan and roti as well as almost all the curries except the one with mustard gravy that was extremely spicy," said Jeming, another student.
The group arrived in Bhubaneswar on Thursday and were given a warm reception by the officials of the said youth and sports department. Yesterday, they visited the Utkal University where the delegation members interacted with the faculty, students and visited some departments.
"I have found that the Chinese are as selfie-crazy as we are. I saw many of them talking selfies everywhere," said Chandrika Sahoo, a student at Utkal University.
Besides educational institutions, they also visited several IT companies at Infocity.
"After visiting the educational institutes, I have realised how the educational system in India is different from that in China," said Wei Zang.
"More such international youth exchange visits are needed to promote international understanding among youth of various nations," he said.
"We are planning to take them to some other places tomorrow where they can have a good experience of our state," said Nivedita Acharya, nodal officer of the state youth and sports department.
