“Chinese Culture Day” Held at Melbourne Town Hall

The “Chinese Culture Day” event, organized for middle school students from the State of Victoria in Australia kicked off at Melbourne Town Hall on August 23, and had the performance of fluent Tai Chi, along with elegant traditional Chinese costumes and exquisite calligraphic inscriptions. Over 2000 local teachers and students got together to share their understanding and love for Chinese culture.

Australian students showing their Chinese names written by themselves at the event on August 23

The activity was held by the Chinese Language Teachers’ Association of Victoria jointly with the Confucius Institute at the University of Melbourne, the Confucius Institute for Traditional Chinese Medicine at Australia RMIT, the Confucius Institute at La Trobe University, and the Business Confucius Institute at Victoria University, attracting over 1800 students and about 200 teachers from more than 40 local colleges and universities.

Australian students making paper-cuts on the “Chinese Culture Day”

Xu Jixing, President of the Chinese Language Teachers’ Association of Victoria, told Xinhua News Agency that the activity was held to inspire more people to gain an in-depth understanding of the values in Chinese culture, improve students’ language proficiency and interpersonal skills, and increase their knowledge about Chinese culture.

During the activities, four Chinese culture workshops from their respective Confucius Institutes in Melbourne gave colorful performances. The performance of five-animal boxing, a set of Chinese health Qigong created by Hua Tuo, a distinguished doctor in ancient China, attracted students to have a go. Plus, teachers and students loved the calligraphic inscriptions and the paper-cutting technique so much that they could not let go of them and the traditional Chinese costumes attracted viewers on site to queue up for pictures.

Allen, the state champion of the 2017 “Chinese Bridge” Chinese Proficiency Competition for Foreign College Students in the State of Victoria, performing the pavane during the August 23 event

The dragon dance performed by the overseas Chinese society from the State of Victoria marked the beginning of the song and dance session. David Karl, the host and the “ambassador” for Chinese language and culture, sang the theme song of the Disney animated film Frozen in Chinese, and then students from the State of Victoria performed onstage. The Chinese culture Q&A competition alternated during the performances marked the climax of this session. Students actively answered questions, competing to show their rich knowledge of Chinese culture.

Liu Siyuan and Allen, respectively the champion of the 2017 “Chinese Bridge” Chinese Proficiency Competition for Foreign College Students and the state champion of this competition in Victoria, not just performed the traditional Chinese dance, but also shared enjoyable experience of their participation in the “Chinese Bridge” competition and their attainments of and reflection on learning Chinese language. The two said that learning Chinese language opened a door for them to a profound and rich cultural treasure.

A group photo of Australian students and the panda as the mascot of China in the “Chinese Culture Day” of middle school students from the State of Victoria on August 23

Huang Guobin, Vice Consul General of the Chinese Consulate General in Melbourne, said that the “Chinese Culture Day”, held on the occasion of the 45th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Australia, offered students of the State of Victoria an opportunity to better understand Chinese culture and Chinese people through participating in various activities. Such kind of understanding about culture serves as the cornerstone and soil for regional peace and prosperity.

Story by Song Dan, Xinhua News Agency, Aug 23rd; photos by Shanshan