Deputy prime minister of Ireland visits the Beijing University of Technology

On Saturday, the hallways of the Beijing Dublin International College at Beijing University of Technology turned green as boards decorated with green ribbons were hung up on the walls. Photos on the boards showed hundreds of happy students clad in green T-shirts or hats, holding up the national flag of China alongside banners wishing people a "Happy St Patrick's Day".

St Patrick's Day on March 17 is a day of recognition for people in Ireland and also a big day for the teachers and students at the BDIC.

Every year, the entire school follows Irish tradition and dresses up in green before hosting a parade and staging performances with international students from the BJUT. This year was no exception. The staff and students enjoyed a series of activities under the theme of "Light Up the Green in Our Life".

Most impressive of all for this year's Feast of Saint Patrick was a visit to the college by Simon Coveney, the deputy prime minister of Ireland. The vice-premier's visit on Saturday happily coincided with Beijing's long-awaited first snowfall this year. It also marked the first time that an Irish deputy prime minister had visited Beijing Dublin International College, a joint-venture school established in 2012 by Ireland's University College Dublin and the Beijing University of Technology.

"I'm really impressed by the quality of English that so many Chinese students are clearly able to speak," Coveney said after visiting the college.

At the official meeting between the delegation from Ireland and faculties from Beijing, Coveney expressed his desire to further develop cooperation between institutions and universities of both nations, as well as China and Ireland as a whole, and to cultivate a new generation of experts in the fields of technology and engineering.

During the meeting, he received a special gift from Xie Hui, the Party secretary of the Beijing University of Technology. The gift was a hammer, to represent the "spirit of craftsmanship" of the BJUT's students. Once enrolled into the university, every freshman is required to take a class of metalworking practice, in which they learn how to forge their own hammers.

Within the past week, Hainan Airlines and Cathay Pacific announced plans to open direct flights from Beijing to Dublin and from Hong Kong to Dublin respectively, which Coveney sees as a stimulus for further exchanges between the two countries.

He also joked that there was no longer any excuse for Chinese students not to travel and study in Ireland, or vice versa.