The venue for the event was chosen to be one of the most interesting and recognisable locations in the capital – the old Arbat. It was here, under the attentive guidance of future actors of drama theatre and cinema, that several student teams from Chinese universities began exploring the sociocultural space of the famous pedestrian street.
The quest route covered the key sights of the Arbat. Participants visited the Stalinist skyscraper of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia, the monument to Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin, the theatre named after Evgeny Vakhtangov, and the legendary ”Tsoi Wall”. At each stop along the route, Chinese students of Russian studies completed various tasks: they answered questions concerning Russian history and culture, composed poems in Russian, performed songs, and demonstrated their artistic abilities by painting matryoshka dolls.
The series of quests was dedicated to an important event in bilateral relations – the Joint Years of Education declared by the President of the Russian Federation V.V. Putin and the President of the People’s Republic of China Xi Jinping, taking place in 2026–2027.
The proposal for cooperation in organising this unusual event came to the university from the Society of Russian-Chinese Friendship. The institute’s leadership, represented by Director Irina Levina and Deputy Director Elena Lavrentyeva, supported the initiative. In turn, the students embraced it with great enthusiasm and a creative approach, bringing it to life as animators. The project was supervised by Grigory Kuzmenko, Doctor of Philosophical Sciences, Associate Professor at the Russian State Social University.
Photo: ICA MCU