OREANDA-NEWS. August 08, 2013. 25 Chinese students, who have obtained the government-subsidized student loan, together with another 25 students from the US participated in the Rainbow Bridge Sino-Foreign Students Cultural Exchange Programat the BOC Head Office. The Rainbow Bridge Sino-Foreign Students Cultural Exchange Programis a public welfareprogram exclusively sponsored by BOC.

All students visited the BOC Head Office Tower designed by Ieoh Ming Pei, a world-famous ChineseAmerican architect. In the Four Seasons Hall, which represents the typical Chinese garden architecture, they enjoyed the charm  of traditional Chinese culture. In the largest foreign exchange trading office in China, they learned about the rapidly changing global market quotation. They also visited the largest safe deposit boxes storeroom in China and experienced BOC's considerate financial serviceby going through small-value foreign currency exchange in the spacious and brightbusinesshall.

Being excellent in both character and learning and having to obtain the government-subsidized student loan,allthe 25 Chinese students were rigorously selected from 25 colleges and universities in 18 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions throughout the country. According to theirschedule, from July 26 to August 19, they will visitprestigious universitiessuchas Harvard, Yale and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, as well as the National Gallery of Art, John F. Kennedy Arts Center, Library of Congress, the World Bank, etc. During that period, they will also visit BOC New York Branchwith a history of nearly 80years and Lincoln Centerofwhich BOC is a board member.

On July 20, 25 outstanding high school students from different cities of the US arrived in Beijing. They will participate in a series of activities to understand Chinese history, culture and national conditions , such as learning Chinese Kung Fu, calligraphy, seal cutting ,folk dance, and facial makeup for Peking Opera.They will participate these activities withchildren of migrant workers, orphans and disabled students,as well as visitfamous cultural attractions, well-known Chinese enterprises, representations of the US organizations in China, and so on.

In 2012, when BOC was celebrating its centennial, f itexclusively sponsored the Rainbow Bridge Sino-US Students Cultural Exchange Program for the first timeco-initiated by the China Next Generation Education Foundation andAmerican's Promoting Study Abroad association .Financed by this program, 50 excellent students from poor families in China and the US will visitthe other country for cultural exchange and study. Currently, this program has been awarded by the China Banking Association for the prize of"Excellent Public Welfare Charity Program in 2012"and granted the "Prize of OutstandingCorporateSocial Responsibility"at the 2013 China Corporate Social Responsibility Annual Forum heldby Southern Weekly.

As the exclusive sponsor of the government-subsidized student loan business, BOC has subsidized over 1.5 million impoverished university students to  finish off their degrees since 2004. In 2010, BOC was invited to bea boardmember of the US Lincoln Center, becoming the first Chinese enterprisethat plays a significant role in a world top art institution.