On March 20, 2026, Xu Meng, a Chinese teacher from the Confucius Institute of Artois, was invited to participate in the Chinese Open Day held at Lycée Beaupré. The four-hour event was open to students from the school as well as neighboring primary and secondary schools. More than 120 students took part in the cultural activities, while approximately 500 teachers and students attended the Chinese cultural performances.
The Open Day featured a variety of Chinese cultural performances and hands-on activities. Between 12:00 p.m. and 1:00 p.m., during the school cafeteria’s two busiest lunch periods, Mr. Xu performed two sessions of the 18 Essential Forms of Chen-style Tai Chi, accompanied by the music of Hongyan. His performances received enthusiastic applause from teachers, students, and cafeteria staff. Students studying Chinese at the school also sang Chinese songs, presented a Chinese-language fashion show, and performed a lion dance, all of which were warmly welcomed by the audience.
Starting at 1:15 p.m., Mr. Xu welcomed ten groups of students for the ink-blowing painting workshop, with participants coming from five neighboring secondary schools. He first introduced the activity by explaining the basic steps and key techniques, before guiding students in creating their own artworks. Each participant completed a unique ink-blowing painting and added a traditional Chinese seal to the finished work.
The final outdoor presentation took place in front of the student activity center, where Mr. Xu once again performed Tai Chi for all teachers and students attending the Open Day. Several students were attracted by the performance and enthusiastically imitated the movements.
The event concluded successfully at 4:00 p.m. It not only offered teachers and students from the school and nearby secondary schools an opportunity to experience Chinese culture through performances and creative activities, but also further stimulated their interest in the Chinese language and culture, contributing positively to the development of Chinese language teaching at the school.