UN Chinese Language Day

The Confucius Institute at De Montfort University (DMU CI), which is jointly established by University of Science and Technology Beijing (USTB) and De Montfort University recently organized and hosted vibrant activities to celebrate UN Chinese Language Day, bringing a rich cultural experience to Leicester and London.

On April 23, CI teachers were invited to provide Chinese cultural experience activities for Leicester local secondary school students at the Futures Fair at 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, which received warm cheers and applause from the audience.                 

On 25 April, 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.

The students were first invited to participate in a series of activities with the theme of "The Mysterious Journey of Sanxingdui" to explore the mysteries of Chinese characters through 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, which 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, 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.                          

The success of the celebration activities hosted or co-hosted by DMU CI once again proves that Chinese is not only a language, but also a bridge linking Chinese and Western cultures and promoting cultural exchanges, highlighting the important role of language teaching in the communication and cultural integration between China and the UK.