Tai'an students strive to promote Chinese culture

Foreign students and teachers from the Saint Joseph-Bossuet High School in France pose for a group photo in front of Dai Temple during their week-long visit to Tai'an. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Students in Tai'an in East China's Shandong province became ambassadors of Chinese culture when their foreign counterparts visited the city recently.

Thirty-two students and teachers from the Saint Joseph-Bossuet High School in France were invited to Taishan High School for a week-long cultural exchange. During their stay, the French students were paired with their Chinese counterparts, living with Chinese families and engaging in activities such as climbing Mount Tai and visiting Dai Temple.

Taishan High School and Taishan Foreign Language School jointly organized a cultural fair, providing the French students with the chance to participate in a series of traditional Chinese cultural activities such as dragon dancing, martial arts, paper-cutting, tea art, dough figurine-making, shuttlecock kicking and calligraphy.

At Taishan Foreign Language School, visiting students and teachers from the Kristin School in Queensland, Australia were warmly welcomed by the students, who eloquently shared the origins of the 24 solar terms, the stories behind the 12 Chinese zodiac signs, as well as the historical and cultural tales of Mount Tai in fluent English.

"In recent years, our school has hosted over 1,000 principals and students from countries including the United States, Canada, France, and Poland. We will continue to actively build bridges between our city's primary and secondary school students and foreign students," said Liu Ting, a teacher at Taishan High School.

A foreign student experiences the art of tea during an International Chinese Language Day event in Tai'an. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

French students try their hands at rubbing art during their visit to Wohushan Primary School in Tai'an. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]