The “Torrone - nougat candy - Road” links Sardinia to China passing through Pisa. The Sant’Anna School Confucius Institute and Tonara City Council authority are opening new commercial routes to bring products from Sardinia to China
Through the Sant’Anna School Confucius Institute and the Galileo Galilei Italian Institute Chongqing initiatives with the City Council authority of Tonara (Nuoro), a new “Torrone Road” will be open, just like the ancient silk trade route, to link China to Sardinian nougat candy production. In addition to language teaching and cultural exchange activities, the Sant’Anna School Confucius Institute and the Galileo Galilei Italian Institute staff will accompany the Tonara City Council delegates who will have the chance to explore trade and business opportunities with Chinese authorities in November 2019. On April 22, as part of the program, the Confucius Institute representatives committed to introducing and disseminating traditional Chinese culture across the Barbagia, Gennargentu and Mandrolisai areas, will attend the “Tonara Torrone Festival”.
The bond between Europe and China is significant. There are more than 500 Confucius Institutes established in over 100 countries throughout the world and there are 13 Confucius Institutes in Italy. As non-profit educational institutions and as a Chinese public institution affiliated with the Chinese Ministry of Education, the Confucius Institutes in Italy are devoted to enhancing the understanding of the Chinese language and culture. In particular, the Sant’Anna School Confucius Institute and the University of Chongqing are devoted to strengthening educational and cultural exchange and cooperation. The visit at the “Tonara Torrone Festival” will involve a series of initiatives focusing on the Chinese language teaching in high schools in Tonara and other traditional Chinese cultural elements such as traditional games, crafts, the lion dance and Kung Fu dance, the tea ceremony, the art of painting and calligraphy, and the art of paper cutting.
Huang Yunlin, the Director of Sant’Anna School Confucius Institute, said: “We are very pleased to celebrate Sardinian culture and its traditional torrone. We hope to start cultural exchange activities and fruitful cooperation”. Co-Director Alberto Di Minin, also highlighted “We are committed to providing Chinese language and cultural teaching resources to Italian learners and contribute to the development of multiculturalism. We are delighted to attend the “Tonara Torrone Festival” as an opportunity to share cultural experiences”.
Flavia Loche, the Mayor of Tonara, said: “I invited all representatives of regional and local authorities to attend the Festival. China is currently the biggest source of import market of Europe and its second biggest export market. My hope is to open commercial routes between Sardinia and China and to be among the most powerful actors in the Barbagia and Gennargentu areas and beyond. For this reason, we are committed to building Tonara into a platform for studying Chinese as a Foreign Language with an aim to promoting cross-cultural communication for our students of the Istituto Tecnico Chimico and fight depopulation of rural and mountain areas”.
