USTB-DMU CI Holding a Series of Activities to Celebrate UN Chinese Language Day
Release Time: 2024-04-25Views:
The Confucius Institute at De Montfort University (CI), which is jointly established by University of Science and Technology Beijing (USTB) and De Montfort University (DMU) in the United Kingdom recently organized and hosted vibrant activities to celebrate UN Chinese Language Day, bringing a rich cultural experience to Leicester and London. These events served as dynamic platforms for local students and the public alike to immerse themselves in the allure of Chinese culture, promoting the cultural exchange between China and the UK.
On April 23, CI teachers were invited to provide Chinese cultural experience activities for Leicester local secondary school students at the Futures Fair of De Montfort University. Through Chinese cultural exhibits such as calligraphy brushes, Go boards, hairpin, silk scarves, etc., as well as activities such as shuttlecock kicking and calligraphy writing, the students are deeply attracted by the charm of Chinese culture. In addition, CI teachers also performed Tai chi fan dance. Their beautiful and dynamic movements and passionate background music perfectly demonstrated the profound heritage of Chinese Tai Chi culture, and received warm cheers and applause from the audience, pushing the atmosphere of the event to a climax. Attracted by the Chinese culture and language, many students came to the Confucius Institute stands to inquire and register for the Chinese language course, expressing their strong desire to understand and learn Chinese culture, which will lay a solid foundation for the future development of the Confucius Institute.
On 25th April, USTB-DMU CI was invited to participate in the celebrations of UN Chinese Language Day in London with the theme "Chinese Language: Building a Bridge of Mutual Learning among Civilizations". Ninety-eight London local secondary school students including Queen Mary High School actively participated in the event. Zhao Fei, Minister of the Chinese Embassy in the UK, delivered a speech. The school principals and student representatives participating in the activity also shared their love and learning experience of Chinese culture and Chinese language. They all expressed their wish to build a bridge of friendship between China and the UK through Chinese language.
After the speeches, the students then participated in a series of activities with the theme of " The Mysterious Journey of Sanxingdui ." to explore the mysteries of Chinese characters. A variety of Chinese character activities, such as online tour of the "Sanxingdui" site, on-site knowledge Q&A, interactive treasure digging and Scrabble games, and on-site production of three-dimensional cards, have opened the window for students to understand the development of Chinese characters, providing the students with a glimpse of the mystery of the development of Chinese characters, thus further stimulating their interest in learning Chinese.
After the Journey of Sanxingdui, USTB-DMU CI, in collaboration with other four Confucius Institutes in London, prepared a variety of Chinese language culture workshops for the students, including color painting on plates, movable type printing, oracle bone script interaction, Chinese martial arts, Chinese fan dance and Chinese character evolution exhibition. In particular, the workshop “Color painting on plates” organized by USTB-DMU CI perfectly combined characters with drawings and graphics, allowing students to experience the evolution and writing of Chinese characters in interesting paintings, enhancing their understanding of Chinese characters, deepening their feelings of Chinese culture, and promoting exchanges and mutual learning between different civilizations.
The successful celebrating activities hosted by USTB-DMU CI once again proves that Chinese is not only a language, but also a link between Chinese and Western cultures and a bridge to promote cultural exchanges, highlighting the importance of language teaching. The active participation of the local students and the public shows their love and recognition of the Chinese language and culture, and builds a solid bridge for the cultural exchanges between China and the UK. It not only promotes the friendship between the Chinese and British people, but also promotes the integration and development of world civilizations.
In the future, the Confucius Institute will persist in its mission of cultural communication, dedicated to facilitating cultural communication and exchanges to make its own contribution to the development of Chinese culture.
Draft: ZHANG Yin
Revision: GU Wei & LIU Jieli
