The Day of Knowledge in the Russian pavilion at World Expo

The Russian pavilion at the World Expo-2010 in Shanghai marked the Day of Knowledge on Wednesday.

The event gathered Russian and Chinese children, journalists, Russians living in Shanghai, students and graduate students of Shanghai universities.

The Day of Knowledge, held at the RIA Novosti press center in the Russian pavilion, was organized by the National Children Fund at the support by the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade, Chamber of Commerce and Industry, All-Russia Exhibition Center and RIA Novosti.

The young visitors of the pavilion were told about the history of the Russian holiday, the Day of Knowledge, by the characters of the popular animated television series Smeshariki, which was given a State Prize of the Russian Federation in 2009.

At the presentation of the Day of Knowledge, the director of the National Children Fund, Irina Mastusova, told the Chinese guests: “We are happy to acquaint the Chinese public with this tradition because in our country the strive for knowledge has been always of great honor and respect.”

The general producer of Smeshariki, Ilya Popov said that the Chinese audience will soon meet with the Russian animated television series which will be called ‘Happy Balls’ in Chinese. The Russian fans of the series will soon see their heroes traveling across China and will get acquainted with the country’s tradition.

The press center of the Russian pavilion held a Russian language contest in the framework of the Day of Knowledge.

Chinese pupils, students and graduate students as well as employees of Chinese companies participated in the event.

The contest was based on an online game of Russian words and the winner was announced by an operator in Moscow. The Champion Cup on the Russian language was won by a team from the Shanghai International Studies University.

The Day of Knowledge in the Russian pavilion ended by a great holiday with the participation of the characters of the popular animated television series Smeshariki for Russian and Chinese children. The special guests of the holiday became the orphans from a Shanghai charity society, children of the members of the Russian club in Shanghai and the members of the Russian Consulate General in Shanghai.