What we gain is not just honor - Tucson Chinese Cultural Festival Chinese Day Tour

What we gain is more than honor - Tucson Chinese Cultural Festival Chinese Day Tour "Alberta Times" Tucson Special Correspondent Huiming September 29th is not a picture...

Gain more than just honors - Chinese Language Day Tour of Tucson Chinese Culture Festival Huiming, Tucson Special Correspondent of the Alberta Times September 29th is not a class day for Tucson Chinese School, but the Tucson Chinese Center was packed with people. Students, teachers and parents from all Chinese schools in the Tucson area, public schools with Chinese education courses, and schools in the Orovalley area came to the center early to participate in the Chinese Language Day competition held here. The entire event was part of the Chinese Culture Festival organized by the Confucius Institute at Asia University. The competition is divided into three parts. The first one is the junior Chinese competition. The 18 students from the 6 American school teams were the first to take the stage. They answered the questions nervously and orderly. The competition followed among students in the junior classes of two Tucson schools, essentially a competition between two Chinese schools in the area. Questions such as "Which Chinese national stadium will the opening ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games be held in?" The answers are selected from "Five Pines, Bird's Nest, Water Cube, and Olympic Park." This type of question may not be too easy for a ten-year-old Chinese child who grew up in the United States. But this does not affect the children's competitiveness and enthusiasm at all. Often the next question is just displayed on the big screen. Before the host has finished explaining, the children can't wait to raise their hands and placards, rushing to answer. The questions were well asked, and the children were allowed to discuss the answers in their interest. After several failed meetings, the children finally learned that the traditional food eaten by Chinese people during the Mid-Autumn Festival is moon cakes, not rice dumplings. The parents of the children were not idle either. They pointed all kinds of photography equipment in their hands at these children and took pictures wildly. The little hands raised in unison like spring bamboo shoots not only left a special interest in the Chinese Language Day, but also made the children feel like being stars, adding a sense of pride in learning Chinese characters and culture. After the elementary Chinese competition, the children celebrated their victory with Chinese performance poems reciting "Untitled", "The Hidden One Does Not Reveal" and singing and dancing "Looking for Friends" and "Little Star", and also welcomed the brothers and sisters with intermediate Chinese proficiency to continue the competition. Participants in the Intermediate Chinese Proficiency Competition are basically students from four American public schools and two Chinese schools. Most of these students are American children and Chinese children who grew up in the United States. Intermediate competitions are more difficult than beginners, but for children who love Chinese culture, no matter how difficult the problem is, they can be easily solved through discussion. Even if the answer is wrong, such as "What is China's most important food crop, it is the staple food of more than 60% of the country's population." American children who only know wheat and potatoes naturally choose wheat. But in the end, the students happily enjoyed their regrets because they now know that rice produced by rice is the staple food of the Chinese people. If a team answers the question correctly, the representatives can immediately enjoy the whistles of their teammates in the audience. Because the honors that the players took home were about China: it is cool to know that China on the other side of the ocean was the birthplace of gunpowder, printing, papermaking and the compass. The performance of the intermediate Chinese competition group was also very interesting. In addition to expressing their obsession and attachment to Chinese culture with the songs "Chinese Song", "Superstar" and "Still Love You", the actors also used the skit "Blind Date" to show off their Chinese proficiency. A girl talked about her views on love, which immediately triggered different confessions from four boys. Although people have different pronunciations, their seriousness and humorous sincerity impressed the girl and the audience. Then there was the Advanced Chinese Proficiency Competition, with 6 students from 2 American school teams answering questions first, and then 6 students from the Chinese school. The competition also resulted in audience interaction. When the judges gave the audience the right to answer, the children and adults in the audience raised their hands like a forest, eager to participate. Most of these eager participants are American children and their parents. The original intention of the Chinese Culture Festival to promote Chinese culture is vividly reflected and rewarded in the joyful knowledge interaction. The activities of the Chinese Language Day ended with the singing and dancing of "Colorful Peacock", "Two Tigers", "Song and Smile", "Hibiscus Flower", "Farewell" and "Beijing Welcomes You" by actors from participating schools. The organizer, the director of the Confucius Institute at Asia University, distributed trophies and souvenirs to the winners and participating students and staff, thanking everyone for their efforts and participation. Although the curtain of the competition has come down, Tucson people's love for Chinese is heating up, because in this short day, people gained not only love and honor, but also their obsession and deep love for Chinese culture and Chinese characters. I am very grateful to the schools and groups that participated in the event. This article is just to express my gratitude: BASIS Tucson North School Team 3, 2 programs Accelerated Learning Laboratory Team 3, 2 programs Basis Oro vally Charter School Team 2 East Asian Studies Dept. at U of A Team 2, 1 program Catalina foothills High School Team 1, 2 programs Tucson High Magnet School Team 1, 1 program? Two tigers? Tucson Chinese School 5 teams 3 programs TCMC Chinese School 3 teams Tucson International School 2 programs performed one International School of Tucson 2 programs that day (list)