STORY: Students in UK wowed by time-honored cultural treasures of China
SHOOTING TIME: April 25, 2024
DATELINE: April 26, 2024
LENGTH: 0:04:10
LOCATION: London
CATEGORY: SOCIETY

SHOTLIST:
1. various of Chinese Language Day event
2. SOUNDBITE 1 (English): JOAN DESLANDES, Head teacher of Kingsford Community School in east London
3. SOUNDBITE 2 (English): DEVINA MISTRY, Student, Queen Mary High School
4. SOUNDBITE 3 (English): KATHARINE CARRUTHERS, Strategic Director of the Mandarin Excellence Programme, IOE, UCL's Faculty of Education and Society

STORYLINE:

The virtual tour of China's Sanxingdui Museum was held on Thursday in central London during an event in celebration of Chinese Language Day of this year, which was attended by about 100 students from four schools.

The event, hosted by the Chinese Bridge Club and the Chinese Proficiency Test UK Committee, marked the end of the 2024 International Chinese Language Day activities across Britain.

During the event, six on-site workshops offered the students an opportunity to experience Chinese culture, such as typography of the Chinese characters, Kung Fu, and Chinese fan dance.

The activities were welcomed by participants.   

SOUNDBITE 1 (English): JOAN DESLANDES, Head teacher of Kingsford Community School in east London
"International Chinese Language Day presents a unique opportunity and a wonderful opportunity for all of us. China is at the center of many great developments and initiatives as well as the global economy. All of you as young people, as the next generation, you will need to understand China's culture and be able to work in the Mandarin language. The fact that more and more schools are incorporating Mandarin into their curriculum reflects the recognition that has been made in how important this is."

SOUNDBITE 2 (English): DEVINA MISTRY, Student, Queen Mary High School
"I think it's really fun, and I think it's a new way to get like girls and other students into Chinese."

SOUNDBITE 3 (English): KATHARINE CARRUTHERS, Strategic Director of the Mandarin Excellence Programme, IOE, UCL's Faculty of Education and Society
"I think all people-to-people exchanges are really important in education. And again it's about motivation, but also finding out about each other, because these children are the future. They will be the fundamental bedrock. Chinese children learning English in China (and) British children learning Chinese here will be the bedrock of the relationship between the UK and China. But also it's really important that they find out about each others' cultures, and that they find out they've got really a lot more in common than there are any differences. It's the huge things."

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from London.
(XHTV)