On 14th November 2025, Chinese teachers of the Confucius Institute in Artois Xu Meng and Qiu Shuzhen were invited to Lycée Gambetta in Arras to conduct three Chinese cultural activities: ink-blowing painting of Chinese blossom, paper-folding pandas and Chinese paper-cutting. These activities were attended by a total of about 53 students.
At 9:00 AM, Mr. Xu Meng arrived promptly at the school's Chinese language classroom to conduct a paper-cutting workshop for 18 ninth-grade students taking an elective Chinese course. First, Mr. Xu explained the cultural significance of Chinese paper-cutting. Then, he showed the students some excellent paper-cutting works. Next, he explained the steps while guiding the students to cut the character "囍" (double happiness). Near the end of the class, Mr. Xu asked everyone to hold up their paper-cutting works for a group photo. In the second class, Mr. Xu welcomed 18 eighth-grade students and led them in a panda paper-folding experience. He started by explaining the meanings of the Chinese characters for "panda," distinguishing between "red panda" and "giant panda." Afterward, Mr. Xu explained the steps and key points of panda paper-folding and had the students try it themselves. Throughout the process, Mr. Xu provided hands-on assistance to students who encountered difficulties. Ultimately, every student successfully folded their own panda.
At 1 p.m., Ms. Qiu Shuzhen arrived at the Chinese classroom to continue the Chinese cultural activities. She led 17 students in hands-on activities including ink-blowing painting of Chinese blossom and panda paper-folding. The first lesson was ink-blowing painting of Chinese blossom. Students appreciated Wang Anshi's poem "Plum Blossom" and experienced the rhythmic beauty of the Chinese language through reciting the verses. Afterwards, the students began creating their ink-blowing paintings: blowing ink onto paper to form tree trunks and branches, adding colorful paint to create plum blossoms, stamping with seals such as "Peace" or "Nature," and finally, copying the poem onto their artwork. During the panda paper-folding, students became increasingly familiar with words like "Chengdu," "giant panda," and "red panda," later they learned sentences such as "I like giant pandas," "I like red pandas," and "Pandas are cute." The students enthusiastically held their finished paper-folding pandas, expressing their eagerness to share panda-related knowledge with their families.
The event lasted altogether four hours and provided three culturally themed experiential classes for students in four classes, which were widely welcomed by the school's Chinese language learners.
