Feature: Chinese trains, ferries, education, part of Rio's daily life

Although China and Brazil are two distant countries separated by a more than 20-hour plane ride, with languages as different as two worlds, their linkage is increasingly closer.

The subway that city residents ride every day is a Chinese underground system and the ferry boats that take passengers cross the Guanabara Bay are Chinese products.

At a local school named after Brazil's famous mathematician Joaquim Gomes de Sousa, students are taught both Chinese and Portuguese.

Nowadays, China's presence in Brazil has more to do with high-tech and culture than with traditional mass-produced low-cost items.

CHINESE-STYLE UNDERGROUND TRAVEL

Boarding Metro Rio is not much different from taking the subway in Beijing, as the Chinese-made trains boast similar blue-and-steel grey exteriors and interior seating arrangements.

In addition to the Chinese trains running along two of the city's subway lines, the new Line 4, expected to be ready in time for the 2016 Rio Olympic Games, will also use Chinese trains.

The trains are set to cover more city areas as urban rail firm Supervia, whose trains connect downtown Rio with the blue-collar suburbs, has also purchased Chinese products.

Currently, a total of 19 trains built by China's CNR Changchun Railway Vehicle Company can transport up to 840,000 Rio residents per day. All the trains are equipped with electronic maps, LED lighting and security cameras.

Once past the entrance to the Cidade Nova station, passengers make their way onto the ultramodern cars under the catchword: "Your life begins here."

"The new trains are much more comfortable. Everyone knows Rio is always very hot, so a working air conditioner is very important," Melene, a local resident who takes the subway to work every day, told Xinhua.

Wang Huaifeng, commercial director at CNR's international division, told Xinhua the trains were tailor-made for Brazil, taking into account the average temperature, operating conditions and passenger capacity.

Pedro Augusto, director of the upcoming Line 4, said Metro Rio signed a deal with CNR in 2009, under which 19 trains were delivered and the first five of a second batch of 15 trains have also arrived.

Besides raising Metro Rio's transport capacity, "the Chinese trains are cheap, but modern and comfortable. We are very happy," he said.

GO TO RIO BY CHINESE FERRY BOAT

Due to high living costs, many people working in Rio, the state capital and Brazil's second city, choose to live in the neighboring Niteroi town across the Guanabara Bay.

Many of the ferries that shuttle commuters back and forth were made in the 1960s and 1970s, but a single blue boat stands out among them. The Pao de Acucar, Sugar Loaf in Portuguese, named after the city's iconic peak, was manufactured in China.

"The new ferry arrived this year, and every day I hope I can catch it, because it is the most comfortable one," bank teller Marcio told Xinhua. "Taking this boat to work can put me in a good mood all day long!"

The Sugar Loaf provides passengers with drinking water, bathrooms, a bar, seats for the disabled, tactile paving and bike racks. Plus, it is the only air-conditioned boat plying the Rio-Niteroi route for now, but the state has purchased seven more.

Boat captain Jorge Oswaldo de Freitas said he feels "very good steering the boat. And this ship always requires two crew members in the cockpit, and that guarantees safety."

Peng Liang, a Chinese engineer at China Shipping Industry's Afai Shipyard, said that during the first year after delivery, Chinese engineers must stand by for day-to-day operations to solve any problems or concerns that might arise.

PORTUGUESE-CHINESE BILINGUAL SCHOOL

People are likely to be greeted with "Ni Hao," "Hello" in Chinese, when walking into the Joaquim Gomez de Souza High School, the country's first Portuguese-Chinese bilingual school.

"What's your name? What's your name in Chinese?" "My name is Han Jiarui." "My name is Mo Manni." Cai Zhaoliang, a volunteer teacher from China's Normal University of Hebei Province, was teaching Chinese to the students at the beginners' level.

All students at the school, located by the beach in Niteroi, have a Chinese name. In addition to studying the language, they also learn how to play the traditional Chinese flute called Hulusi, Chinese chess and calligraphy.

Tai Chi and shuttlecock kicking have been added to Physical Education classes. Occasionally, the school organizes exhibitions of traditional Chinese culture and takes students on field trips to see Chinese movies.

Cai, also a teacher at the Confucius Institute, said teaching at the school "is very different from teaching at college, where all students have a satisfactory level of English for it to be used as a teaching language.

"Here many students cannot communicate with us in English. We have to study Portuguese, or ask other teachers to help translate into English," he said.

All Chinese teachers who teach at the school live in Rio, have to spend over two hours commuting to Niteroi, but the experience is rewarding, said Li Su Tianke, another volunteer teacher.

"Every day I get up at four in the morning to teach a class at seven at the school. But my students are making progress every day. To me, it's been a great success. And I don't feel so tired. The students and their progress compensate all the fatigue," Li said. Endite