Education a key focus of Chengdu's sister city ties in Israel, Denmark

Hanan Alexander, dean of students and head of the International School at Haifa University, speaks of the university's plan to enhance exchange with universities in Chengdu.[Photo by Huang Zhiling/chinadaily.com.cn]

Chengdu, the provincial capital of Sichuan province, established its first sister city in 1981, and in the years since, it has added 28 more. It's ties with Haifa, Israel's center of scientific research, and Horsens, Denmark, are focused something all three value — education.

Lin Jingting, who is studying for a master's in molecular biology at the University of Haifa, is delighted by the increasing exchanges between Chendgu and Haifa, which established sister city ties in 2013.

Each month brings new visitors from Chengdu, where Lin, 23, a native of Yibin in Sichuan, had been an undergraduate before enrolling at Haifa as an exchange student in 2014.

At the Haifa City Hall, Hedva Almog, the municipality's deputy mayor, shows documents recording the exchanges between the cities. She said Haifa has closely cooperated with Chengdu in education since 2013.

A high school in Haifa has forged ties with a counterpart in Chengdu so that lsraeli students can learn more about Chengdu and students in Chengdu can learn about Haifa. The student exchange program between the University of Haifa and Chengdu University is also proceeding smoothly, Almog said.

Hanan Alexander, dean of students and head of the university's International School, said the program is an effective way to enhance exchanges with different countries.

"Thanks to the program, 10 Chengdu students are studying at the University of Haifa and two or three students from the University of Haifa go to Chengdu as exchange students each year," he said. "Exchanges of teachers for academic purposes and cooperation in training teachers are on the agenda on both sides, and a Confucius Institute will be built at the University of Haifa in the near future."

Lin, who majored in food quality and safety at Chengdu University, said she found information on the student exchange program with Haifa on her university website after the two became sister cities. In October 2014, she became the first exchange student from Chengdu to the University of Haifa. Upon completion of her undergrad studies, she stayed on for her master's.

Lin said Israeli students have expressed an interest in learning more about Chengdu thanks to the exchange program.

"When I cook in my dormitory, the Israeli students show a keen interest in Sichuan food and they wanted to visit Chengdu after I told them more about the city," she said.