Students show off their Fu and Chunlian works during a cultural immersion activity on Jan 23. [Photo/xhby.net]

Changzhou University in East China's Jiangsu province invited 122 students residing at the school throughout the Spring Festival holiday to try their hands at Chinese calligraphy on Jan 23, local media outlets reported.

The group included 37 Chinese students as well as 85 international students from Africa, Central Asia, and Southeast Asia.

Lin Shunhai, a calligraphy expert, guided the students as they wrote Chunlian, or Spring Couplets, and Fu, which means "fortune" or "good luck" in Chinese. These are symbols of the Spring Festival. Chunlian is commonly written on three pieces of long red paper, while Fu is usually written on a piece of square red paper.

Aside from traditional blessings such as "Happy New Year", the students also wrote Chinese sayings such as "The purple air comes from the East,", "As dear as one's own brothers and sisters," and "Laughter would make you younger."

A student from Burundi said that this was his first time trying Chinese calligraphy. Though he hasn't been home for two years, the student said he felt safe staying in China amid the COVID-19 pandemic and would have more time to study and carry out research.

Changzhou University has rolled out detailed plans to keep students safe and happy during the holiday. For example, students will have their temperatures taken and health information recorded every day, teachers will be on duty round the clock, and activities will be held twice a week, including badminton, table tennis, watching the Spring Festival Gala, making dumplings, and solving lantern riddles.

Calligrapher Lin Shunhai teaches students to write the Chinese character Fu, which means "fortune" or "good luck". [Photo/xhby.net]