Immersive Experience of Chinese Charms for British Students: The Confucius Institute at Newcastle University Holds the "Welcome to China" Themed Cultural Weeks
27 March 2025
Immersive Experience of Chinese Charms for British Students: The Confucius Institute at Newcastle University Holds the "Welcome to China" Themed Cultural Weeks
In late March, as spring first begins to bloom in Newcastle, the Confucius Institute at Newcastle University actively participated in the city’s annual "International Newcastle" cultural festival (https://internationalnewcastle.org.uk). Over a two-week period, the Institute hosted a series of Welcome to China cultural workshops, offering vibrant and engaging cultural experiences to students and teachers from six local schools. Through hands-on activities and demonstrations in paper cutting, Five-Step Fist (Wubuquan), traditional Chinese painting, and calligraphy, the workshops built a multidimensional bridge for British students to engage with and appreciate Chinese civilization.
The two-week cultural workshop series began with a fun and engaging Chinese Taster session. Teachers Li Lanjin, Zhu Liujing, Lü Jiaying, and Jiang Xingyi led children from six local schools on a fascinating journey into Eastern culture. The teachers began by breaking the language barrier with cheerful greetings of “Nǐ hǎo” (“Hello” in Chinese), and the children enthusiastically joined in the greeting relay, taking their very first step into learning Chinese.
The theme of the Chinese Taster session was numbers. The teachers designed a variety of classroom activities, such as using body movements to represent numbers. They also showed lively videos where students mimicked the corresponding gestures while saying Chinese numbers aloud. Interactive games like “Do as I say,” tongue twisters, and number-themed kung fu exercises made learning fun and dynamic. The children eagerly took part, mastering Chinese numbers while discovering the playful charm of Chinese culture.
This immersive language experience not only gave young British learners their first taste of the beauty of Mandarin, but also built a cultural bridge through the universal language of numbers.
Teachers Zhu Liujing and Lü Jiaying each led traditional Chinese painting workshops for students from Outwood Normanby and Broadwood Primary School respectively. The class began with a comparison of two artworks, guiding students to observe and identify the differences between Chinese and Western painting styles.
Next, students were encouraged to explore the unique texture and feel of rice paper, ink, and Chinese brushes through close observation and hands-on experience. A panda-themed video was then shown to spark interest, followed by a step-by-step painting session where students learned to depict pandas and bamboo.
Full of imagination and enthusiasm, the students created their own charming panda paintings, blending new techniques with their personal creativity.
Teacher Li Lanjin delivered a lively and engaging Chinese paper-cutting class to 5-year-old children from West Newcastle Academy. Centered around the Chinese character “春” (Spring), she guided the children in creating their own paper-cutting artworks using scissors and colored paper. With simple steps and patient instruction, the children successfully cut out the character “春”. They proudly held up their creations, their faces glowing with a sense of achievement, and were amazed by the magic of turning paper into art.
Teacher Li Lanjin also taught a Wubuquan (Five-Stance Fist) class to students from Bellingham Middle School. The session began with a screening of the video "Kung Fu Kids," which left the students in awe of Chinese Kung Fu. Following the video, Teacher Li led a warm-up session and carefully introduced the basic movements of Wubuquan, including hand postures such as the fist, palm, and hook, as well as foundational stances like the bow stance and horse-riding stance. The children followed her demonstrations attentively, showing a strong interest in learning Kung Fu. With patient guidance, Teacher Li encouraged the students to continue practicing and refining their moves. The students fully immersed themselves in the activity, thoroughly enjoying the experience and having a fantastic time exploring the world of Chinese martial arts.
In the calligraphy class, Teacher Zhu Liujing delivered an engaging introduction to Chinese calligraphy for students from Christ Church Primary. By showcasing the evolution of four Chinese characters—“日” (Sun), “月” (Moon), “人” (Person), and “山” (Mountain)—from oracle bone inscriptions and bronze inscriptions to regular script, she helped the children appreciate the wisdom behind Chinese characters, where meaning is derived from form.
Teacher Zhu explained the techniques for writing five basic strokes: horizontal, vertical, left-falling, right-falling, and dot. She also emphasized general principles of Chinese character writing, such as “from top to bottom” and “from left to right.” With Chinese brushes in hand, the students carefully wrote the characters “春” (Spring) and “吉” (Good Luck) on vermilion rice paper—completing their very first full calligraphy works imbued with auspicious meaning.
Teacher Jiang Xingyi conducted a Chinese paper-cutting class for students from Cardinal Hume Catholic School. At the start of the session, she introduced the history and cultural significance of paper-cutting, and displayed a range of styles to give students an intuitive understanding of this traditional folk art. Starting with simple designs, the students gradually progressed to cutting out shapes like pandas and Chinese knots. Through hands-on practice, they experienced the joy and charm of paper-cutting while crafting their own unique creations. The classroom was filled with laughter and delight throughout the workshop.
Although this cultural workshop series have successfully come to a close, the spark of Sino-British cultural exchange continues to shine brightly. The Confucius Institute at Newcastle University will keep organizing more exciting and enriching events, allowing even more people to experience the unique brilliance of Chinese culture – both traditional and contemporary.
