SANFORD - Chinese song and music delighted those attending the reception for Professor Ling Huang, Central Carolina Community College's new Confucius Classroom instructor, Monday at the Dennis A. Wicker Civic Center.

Huang and her son, Qianfan Chen ("Fan" for short), performed two traditional Chinese songs to express their gratitude for the warm welcome they have received since arriving in Sanford Oct. 12. Fan performed on a "xiao," an end-blown Chinese flute, and Huang sang a Chinese song expressing a lady's happy mood while picking bamboo flowers.

"The song also represents my mood on being here in Sanford," she told those at the gathering.

Huang holds a bachelor's degree in English literature and a master's in Jewish literature. She is fluent in English and teaches it at Nanjing Normal University, in Jiangsu province, the People's Republic of China. For the next two years, she will be sharing her knowledge of Mandarin Chinese and Chinese culture through the Classroom, as well as doing presentations for area schools, organizations and companies who want to learn more about China.

Fan is attending East Lee Middle School. He said he has already made some friends there.

"I have made the correct decision to come to the college," Huang told the gathering. Then she asked Sanford Mayor Cornelia Olive, "What is the secret to having a city that is full of friendly people?"

The mayor smiled and responded, "We welcome people and other cultures readily," then added, "You just illustrated why you are so precious to us. You brought us such charm, delicacy and beauty. We welcome you most heartily."

CCCC's Confucius Classroom is a partnership between North Carolina State University's Confucius Institute and the college. NCSU is the first university in the United States to develop this type of partnership with a community college and CCCC was the first community college in the U.S. to have a Classroom. The Institute is a partnership between NCSU, China's National Office of Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language (Han Ban), and Nanjing Normal University.

China has become a major world power and interest in Chinese language and culture has increased apace. Chinese is second only to English as an international language of business. China is North Carolina's second largest trading partner and Gov. Bev Perdue has visited that nation several times to boost commercial and cultural ties, according to her office.

"Our Confucius Classroom opens a whole new spectrum for our area and students at the college to experience a part of the world they wouldn't have otherwise," said CCCC President Bud Marchant. "It can help to strengthen understanding, as well as cultural and economic ties. We appreciate Professor Huang's coming so that we can learn about China, its cultures and language."

Huang has already started sharing her knowledge. On Oct. 28, she visited West Lee Middle School and gave a presentation on student life, food, and other aspects of Chinese life and culture. She plans to be very active in reaching out to the community.

The professor asks people she meets to just call her "Ling." As is traditional in Chinese, her name is Huang Ling, with the last name given first. While here, she is using her first name first (Ling Huang), as is the Western tradition, to make it easier for Americans to remember.

Her Confucius Classroom programs will begin in January with Elementary Chinese I and II, an introduction to Chinese language and culture. These will be university transferrable credit courses. She will also teach Continuing Education classes, such as cooking and what to do when traveling in China.

For more information, visit www.cccc.edu/confucius, or contact Professor Huang at (919) 718-7228 or lhuan584@cccc.edu, Humanities Department Chair Ty Stumpf, (919) 718-7376 or jstumpf@cccc.edu, or Dean Jon Matthews, (919) 718-7414, jmatthews@cccc.edu.