Bridge builder brings communities together

Fluent in Russian, Chinese and English, Chinese Russian Mira Maximova is busy building bridges between people from different countries.

On Sept 26, she hosted an opening ceremony for a Russian culture town in Lyushunkou district of Dalian, Northeast China's Liaoning province.

"Kids from both China and Russia gathered there, learning Chinese calligraphy and martial arts, trying to understand both cultures," she explained.

Maximova was born in Yakutia, Russia. Her father is Chinese and her mother is Russian.

In 2004, 23-year-old Maximova came to Dalian to study at Dalian University of Foreign Languages.

"When I just arrived, I was shocked by the cultural differences," she recalled. "Russians prefer talking about something directly, like throwing a stone, while the Chinese will not."

Gradually, she came to realize that the differences of these two ways of thinking can never be changed by each other, but they can influence each other.

"I'm enchanted with the thought of ancient Chinese philosopher Laozi. He taught people to put oneself at a lower status and show our esteem to guests, and so we can do many things," she said.

She added that China held the G20 Summit, during which the country showed the world its tolerance and enthusiasm.

Now, Maximova is a reporter of a bilingual magazine called China and Russia, but she is more willing to be viewed as a social activist.

According to Maximova, there are more than 200 Russians living in Dalian. As the secretary-general of the Dalian China-Russia association, she often organizes activities to help them to integrate into the local community.

Mastering many languages and being good at singing and dancing, the warmhearted lady can do this skillfully.

During the cherry festival, she organizes Russians in Dalian to pick cherries. They dance wearing traditional Russian clothes, while Chinese friends sing Moscow Nights together.

Seeing the enjoyment and interaction of people, Maximova feels what she does is meaningful.

"I like communicating with people and organizing cultural exchange activities. I'm doing my favorite activities and it's very fun," she said.

Maximova said she wants to be a type of "WiFi" - let-ting more people get connected through her.

She sometimes visits Shenyang, Harbin and Beijing to do some translation or reception work for Russian delegations to China.

For her, Dalian is an inter-national city, like Hong Kong - no matter where people come from, they can find their preferred items and activities.

She introduces the most characteristic sightseeing attractions to Russian tourists and has introduced Russian artists to China. But what she likes most is to bring more Russian children to Dalian.

"When they go back to Russia, the kids can be transmitters of Chinese culture and help to build a bridge of friendship," she said.

In her spare time, Maximo-va translates Chinese songs into Russian.

"Moscow Nights is more popular in China than in Russia, but nobody knows who the translator is. I'm introducing more Chinese songs not for fame but because I like both countries," she said.

zhangxiaomin@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 09/30/2016 page6)