Eight researchers from Poland, Ghana and China attempted to determine how the spread of poetic culture abroad affects the image of the city of Zhenjiang in their research projects. The first prize of the Academy of Social Sciences of Zhenjiang for a project within applied research in social sciences was awarded to dr Magdalena Łągiewska from the WPiA UG, director of the Confucius Institute of the UG together with an international research team led by Li Hongyan. Marcel Jakubowski talks about the project and international cooperation with the winner.

- What exactly did your project consist of? I am particularly interested in the part about poetry/ lyric poetry in your research about communication strategy?

- The international research project, led by Li Hongyan of Jiangsu University (Zhenjiang, PRC), involved the collaboration of eight researchers from four universities who came from three countries (China, Poland and Ghana).

Thus, researchers from the following centres participated in the project: Jiangsu University (中国江苏大学), Nanjing University of Finance and Economics (中国南京财经大学), Beibu Gulf University in Beijing (中国北部湾大学), and the University of Gdańsk.

The project, entitled 'Study on Zhenjiang's overseas poetry communication strategy', aimed to investigate how the dissemination of the poetry culture abroad affects the image of Zhenjiang city. Thus, the research was concerned with overseas communication strategies.

- The research project was not only of academic value, but also of high practical value, and thus gained recognition. The Academy of Social Sciences of Zhenjiang City awarded you the first prize for an excellent project in applied research in social sciences.

- It is worth mentioning that Zhenjiang is a famous historical and cultural city in China. It is an important port and a picturesque tourist city in the Yangtze River Delta. It is located in Jiangsu Province and has a permanent population of 3.12 million. Zhenjiang is also a Chinese poetic city, with over 10,000 poems written about it.

There are two basic types of projects in China: those that result in a scientific publication or those that have a more practical dimension, namely the formulation of a report that explains how the research carried out impacts various aspects of our lives. The project in which I participated lasted a year and aimed to prepare the aforementioned final report (10,000 Chinese characters).

- What was your work like in the international team? Did you meet remotely or stationary?

- Due to the current epidemiological situation, I, unfortunately, did not have the opportunity to travel to China. We kept in touch via WeChat, emails and Zoom.

- Is your team getting down to further projects? Is this the end of the cooperation?

- Yes, the cooperation has had its intended effect and we are planning further projects in the future. We are in the process of preparing grant applications that fall within my research interests (Chinese law).

- I would like to take this opportunity to ask you what the nearest plans are for the Confucius Institute at UG, which you direct?

- In the new year the Confucius Institute is planning a series of academic seminars on the Belt and Road Initiative. The aim of such meetings with the participation of Chinese and Polish professors, as well as business experts, will be to introduce many dimensions of the Chinese New Silk Road, including economic and legal aspects.

- Thank you for the interview.