On 31st January 2025, Chinese teachers of the Confucius Institute in Artois Chen Yunyun, Xu Meng and Qiu Shuzhen were invited to Beaupré High School in Haubourdin to conduct a series of Chinese cultural activities.The event lasted for four hours and was attended by a total of about 100 junior high students from this school and the nearby schools who learn Chinese as a foreign language, and ca.800 students watched and enjoyed the performances.
The Open Day was designed with a number of Chinese cultural performances and experiences. During the two peak mealtimes in the canteen at noon, Ms. Chen Yunyun took the lead and played the cheerful pipa piece ‘Dance of the Golden Snake’ for the students and teachers who came to the canteen and won the applause of all the teachers, students and staff present.
Immediately after, Mr. Xu Meng performed two sessions of Chen-style Taijiquan Essential Eighteen Forms for teachers and students at 12:00 noon and at 1:00 p.m., accompanied by the background music ‘Hongyan’, which gained the applause of teachers and students in the audience.
Next, Ms. Qiu Shuzhen worked with two students to introduce the meaning of blowing ink on plum blossoms to all students and teachers and invited everyone to experience it in the Student Activity Center. Subsequently, about 80 students came to the Student Center to create ink blowing paintings. The students followed the steps of making a Chinese ink-painting by drawing with ink, straws, and paint. Upon completion of the blowing ink painting, students stamped a traditional Chinese seal on the painting.
Finally, in the outdoor performance session, in front of the Student Activity Center, Ms. Chen Yunyun played pipa music for the whole school during recess. After the performance, teachers and students came forward to watch this novel traditional Chinese instrument up close and expressed their desire to learn more about the pipa. Following the performance, Mr. Xu Meng performed Taijiquan for the students and teachers, attracting some students to imitate and learn the movements of Taijiquan.
The successful Chinese Open Day not only brought performances and experiences on Chinese culture-related topics to the teachers and students of Chinese language classes at the high school and nearby secondary schools, but also attracted the attention and interest of teachers and students of the school in Chinese language and culture.