NAIROBI Cheap Terrell Brandon Jersey , May 19 (Xinhua) -- Elvis Njau would never imagine that one day he would stand in a podium to address an eminent gathering in mandarin and receive a thunderous applause thanks to his proficiency in the dialect.
The 21-year-old undergraduate student of history and international relations at Kenya's Egerton University has confounded peers and tutors for his mastery of Chinese language, culture and ancient philosophy.
Njau was the overall winner of the 14th Chinese language proficiency competition for foreign students held in Nairobi on Monday.
The competition was organized by the Chinese Embassy in Kenya and the University of Nairobi`s Confucius Institute.
During an interview with Xinhua, Njau said his passion for Chinese language lingered since childhood while sound mentorship from tutors at the university boosted his proficiency in the dialect.
"Chinese language is not difficult and it requires passion and attention to details for somebody to master it," Njau told Xinhua.
His weeklong trip to China last year widened his understanding of an ancient civilization whose global impact is profound.
Like millions of Kenyan millennials, Njau's world views are largely shaped by globalization and digital revolution.
When he joined the university Cheap Kyrie Irving Jersey , Njau was inspired by lectures touching on the changing global dynamics thanks to the rise of China and other emerging economies.
"It was clear to me the world order had dramatically shifted in favor of new powers like China, hence the need to learn the country's official language and belief systems," said Njau.
He aspires to study mandarin up to doctorate level and pursue a career in either diplomacy or academia.
Students drawn from Confucius institutes in four Kenyan universities electrified the audience with music, dance, poetry and martial arts from the middle kingdom.
Chinese diplomats Cheap Mo Williams Jersey , Kenyan scholars and ordinary citizens agreed the eastern African nation's youth are better placed to advance Sino-Africa cultural cooperation.
"Interactive forums are crucial to promote understanding and appreciation of Kenyan and Chinese languages. The universities have provided a good platform to realize this goal," remarked the Deputy Vice Chancellor, University of Nairobi, Professor Isaac Mbeche.
Natika Mulama, a 22-year-old mandarin student at Egerton University has earned celebrity status thanks to her ability to perform Chinese folklore with ease.
She bagged the second prize during the contest that attracted seventy participants from Kenyan public universities.
Mulama created a buzz when she walked to the podium to belt out a sentimental lyric that was rich in vocals and message.
The audience was electrified when Mulama swayed rhythmically as she sang a moving Chinese love song.
The eloquent mandarin speaker told Xinhua she has defied great odds to master a dialect that was once considered alien in Kenya and the larger eastern African region.
"I am majoring in Chinese language in the University and has no regrets for pursuing a foreign language that is currently recognized in the international system Cheap Deron Williams Jersey ," Mulama remarked, adding that determination and passion enabled her to master the Chinese language in a short span.
"There were cynical voices that warned me against studying the Chinese language, but I proved them wrong. I have studied Spanish and German, but mandarin is the most thrilling," Mulama told Xinhua.
She aspires to visit China and gain new insight on the country's rich cultural heritage.
Residents take a rest on the bank of Love River in Kaohsiung Cheap Andrew Bogut Jersey , southeast China's Taiwan, Sept. 9, 2017. (XinhuaZhou Mi)
China, Pakistan air forces hold joint training exercises
Pic story: Chinese grape and wine expert
Farmers busy with farm work around Bailu across China
Rural children take free lunch in SW China's Guizhou
In pics: China's future Mars simulation base in Qinghai
Actors perform during acrobatics show in central China's Puyang
Colorful houses seen in N China's beautiful countryside
Spectacular scenery of Hukou Waterfall of Yellow River
OSAKA, Jan. 30 (Xinhua)-- Researchers at an institute in Kobe City Cheap Derrick Williams Jersey , western Japan discovered a new method for creating pluripotent cells in mice by simply exposing body cells to acidic liquids, and the cells can be reprogrammed to grow into any type of mature tissue, local media reported on Thursday.
According to several local media reports including the one by Japan's Kyodo News Agency, a team of scientists at the Riken Center for Developmental Biology in Kobe soaked lymph corpuscle taken from 7-day-old mice into mildly acidic liquids for about 30 minutes and cultured them to transplant into mice, where they developed into nerve and muscle tissues.
The report said that the research group in the city Cheap Richard Jefferson Jersey , which is led by 30-year-old Haruko Obokata, who had spent some time researching at Harvard University in the United States, named its discovery "stimulus-triggered acquisition of pluripotency," or STAP, and the mew method was announced in the British journal Nature on Wednesday.
The report noted that although STAP cells have similar qualities to induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells Cheap Jae Crowder Jersey , which are created by putting genes into cells, they can be produced within a shorter period of time than iPS cells, which can take several weeks to produce.
Concerning the discovery, the report by Nippon Hoso Kyokai (NHK) , Japan's public broadcaster Cheap Jeff Green Jersey , meanwhile, cited Professor Shinya Yamanaka at Kyoto University's Center for iPS Cell Research and Application, who won a Nobel Prize in 2012, as saying that the new announcement from the Kobe institute is interesting and it can be seen as a new method to create iPS-like cells for potential medical application.