Hearts connect across mountains and seas

Jinith De Silva

F riendship entered Sri Lanka centuries ago via the Silk Road route from ancient China. Since then， the two countries have maintained close relations in the economic and cultural fields.

In times of disaster， China has been among the first to come to Sri Lankas aid. We are very happy to see that China has come forward to assist us in numerous ways during this time of economic hardship.

The Sri Lanka China Society contacted friends in China and appealed to them to assist Sri Lanka. It gave me great pleasure to see that several Chinese organizations came forward to assist us， particularly Hangzhou Caihe No 3 Primary School， which unexpectedly donated 100，000 yuan （Rs 5 million） to grant 200 scholarships to needy students in Sri Lanka.

Caihe means picking lotus flowers in Chinese. Hangzhou is a beautiful city famous for lotus flowers. West Lake， an iconic scenic site in Hangzhou， is regarded as one of the most beautiful places in China. I visited in 2012. At the same time， the lotus flower is also the favorite flower of Sri Lanka， symbolizing wisdom in Buddhism.

The Chinese and Sri Lankan students friendship started in 2020. In that year， 89 students of the school sent works of art through the Sri Lanka China Society to Sri Lanka China Children s Art Exhibition， which was organized by the Devi Balika school in Colombo.

That year， children of the Hangzhou school also organized an art exhibition to show their solidarity with Sri Lanka in their fight against COVID-19. Whats more， they wrote a letter to the president of Sri Lanka to express their solidarity. Within a short period， the children received a letter of appreciation from the Sri Lankan president.

I believe bilateral friendship has been enhanced through artwork. The Chinese students happily and cheerfully came forward to assist our children by donating their pocket money to needy Sri Lankan students.

It is a great pleasure to report that we have already taken steps to distribute their donations to our children， particularly to those living in rural areas. Each student will receive Rs 25，000 （500 yuan ） in cash.

The distribution of scholarships started with a small function organized by the Sri Lanka China Society with the support of Devi Balika School in Colombo. Qi Zhenhong， ambassador of the Peoples Republic of China to Sri Lanka， was the chief guest and presented several scholarships to selected students in the Colombo district.

This donation will be remembered with gratitude by many people in Sri Lanka.