My China story

Hi my name's Gloria, you can also call me 高雅 (Gao Ya). I'm a Masters student at southeast university Nanjing and I'm from Nigeria. I'd like to tell you a story… you can call it MY CHINA STORY. My China story is quite an exciting one, it has been filled with lots of fun moments exploring the great country of China. Having nursed the dream of coming to China for a long time, I resolved to explore the country to the best of my ability.

A fun-filled trip to the Nanjing Museum gave me lots of insight about Nanjing and especially "the great canal" that runs from Beijing to Hangzhou. We explored beautiful and strong ancient ceramics used for storing water and other essentials, some of these vessels dates back to as early as the 16th century. We saw some Chinese arts and crafts and I was lucky enough to make a painting on a hand fan and I enjoyed it so much.

"帮助他人，服务社会" this is a Chinese saying that means "By helping others, you are serving the society". Volunteering at the Zijin Grass International Volunteers group is probably one of the most rewarding aspect of my life in China. This platform made me to know and discover more about Chinese history and especially the history of the Nanjing massacre. I am so grateful for the opportunity to be a Zijin Grass Volunteer because now I can also promote the history of the massacre and make other foreign friends outside China to understand more about Chinese history.

As someone who is interested in singing and dancing, I also find time to have fun on stage and this picture was taken during the BRI Youths Sports Exchange Week held in Nanjing. We the international students at Southeast University performed the song "We're all in this together" resonating with the times we are in.

When I am not caught up in one activity or the other, I find time to relax and just breathe. This breath-taking view was taken right in the middle of the famous Xuanwu Lake. One of the things I absolutely love about China is that it has so many beautiful sceneries that you can go to for some quality time alone with nature.

Another amazing aspect about going abroad is that one gets to meet people of different cultures and make lasting memories with them. China has provided me with the opportunity of meeting awesome people from all over the world. Here I am having dinner with my friends and classmates. We've got Thailand, China and Nigeria in one photo!

China is a country with many fascinating delicacies and it is such a pleasure to explore some of them. On this day the International students' office of Southeast university organized a cooking event where we came and learnt how to make the famous "jiaozi" (a delicacy made from flour, meat and vegetables). It was an exciting experience for me as the Chinese chef taught us how to make the filling as well as the beautifully shaped "jiaozi".

I recently attended this conference held in Nanjing on International Exchange and Cooperation for Overseas Chinese Professionals. It gave some insight about the development plan for Nanjing in the coming years. It was also a great opportunity for graduating students with intentions of getting a job to meet with prospective employers. It was very enlightening for me and I couldn't help but admire this great country of China.

I hope to stay in China for much longer after my masters program and I also want to travel and visit other cities in China, Nanjing gave me such a good experience, I am excited for what the future holds!

Hi my name's Gloria, you can also call me 高雅 (Gao Ya). I'm a Masters student at southeast university Nanjing and I'm from Nigeria. I'd like to tell you a story… You can call it MY CHINA STORY. My China story is quite an exciting one, it has been filled with lots of fun moments exploring the great country of China. Having nursed the dream of coming to China for a long time, I resolved to explore the country to the best of my ability.

The opinions expressed here are those of the writer and do not necessarily represent the views of China Daily and China Daily website.