Suzhou hosted its first awarding ceremony for outstanding foreign teachers and excellent administration teams of foreign teachers in elementary and middle schools on February 24.

20 teachers and 12 teams were honored for their contributions and achievements.

Suzhou currently has six schools for foreigners' children, one school for children of Taiwan business people, seven Sino-foreign cooperative schools, 26 cooperative programs, and also China's first demonstration zone for internationalization of higher education.

Data also showed that 245 schools in Suzhou have established sister-school relations with 565 overseas counterparts. The city is home to 2,083 foreign teachers from 87 countries, who have become the bridge linking Suzhou students to the world.

Representatives shared their teaching experiences at the ceremony. In the Jiangnan Culture Workshop held before the activity, foreign teachers also learned about the city's traditional culture, such as wood carving and tea culture.