BEIJING, December 11 (ChinaMil) -- The College of Defence Studies of the National Defense University of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) recently held a series of cultural events with the theme of "Spreading Chinese culture, Telling Chinese Tales". The events attracted nearly 200 foreign military officer-students from 70-odd countries as well as their spouses and children.

According to the briefing, foreign military officer-students always have a high interest in and demand of Chinese culture. It was for this reason that the NDU organized a series of events to spread Chinese culture.

The NDU invited the art troupes of the Beijing Peking Opera Theatre, the Beijing Sports University and others to perform on the campus, and organized foreign military officer-students to visit such scenic spots as the Palace Museum, the Great Wall, the terracotta warriors and horses of the First Qin Emperor’s Mausoleum, the Great Wild Goose Pagoda and so on. It organized activities to watch traditional performances of Chinese folk music, acrobatics and the like, and opened training courses on such traditional skills as Chinese calligraphy and painting, martial arts, embroidery, knitting and so on.

At the performance, Colonel Partovi from Iran Air force said: "This is the first time for me to watch Peking opera. It is so marvelous that my daughter and I enjoy it so much. Chinese culture is vast and profound. It is really fascinating".

The performers and staff of the Beijing Peking Opera Theatre said: "After seeing that so many senior officers from so many countries like the Peking opera, we really feel glad for it. We hope to reinforce our cooperation with the NDU in the future so as to spread the culture of the Peking opera to the world".

It is learnt that the training courses of Chinese calligraphy and painting, embroidery, martial arts, knitting and others were opened at the same time. The NDU will continue to organize foreign officer-students and their spouses and children in the future to watch traditional acrobatics, visit martial arts schools, and attend temple fair and other activities.