Arizona State University Confucius Hamilton High School Chinese Culture Day

Arizona State University Confucius Hamilton High School Chinese Culture Day On February 1, 2013, the Confucius Institute at Arizona State University held a…

Chinese Culture Day at the Confucius Institute at Hamilton High School at Arizona State University On February 1, 2013, the Confucius Institute at Arizona State University successfully held a Chinese Culture Day at Hamilton High School. A total of about 3,500 students participated in various activities and celebrated the traditional Chinese New Year in advance. At 9:45 a.m., the Confucius Institute at Arizona State University started playing a slideshow about traditional Chinese New Year on the big screen in the Hamilton High School cafeteria. More than a thousand Hamilton students were enjoying their lunch while admiring the slideshow carefully prepared for them by the Confucius Institute. Suddenly, there was a burst of cheerful dragon dance music, and a glittering golden dragon slowly moved onto the stage of the restaurant. After a closer look, it turned out that it was students studying Chinese at Hamilton High School who came to wish everyone New Year's greetings. In the other corner of the stage, a dark lion rushed onto the stage not to be outdone. It flashed its big eyes, jumped up and down, sometimes rolled, and sometimes fluttered. The students in the audience watched with interest and bursts of applause from time to time. The students’ wonderful performances kicked off the Chinese Culture Day at the Confucius Institute at Arizona State University. Hamilton High School has three dining periods, and more than a thousand students come to the dining hall during each period. Students in the Chinese class of the school performed a total of three dragon and lion dances during these three periods to celebrate the traditional Chinese New Year with the teachers and students of the school. The entire venue was filled with the cheers and laughter of the students. After watching the performance, the students flocked to the booths set up by the Confucius Institute outside the restaurant. The Confucius Institute has decorated each booth with strong Chinese characteristics. Some students gathered around the knowledge corner, carefully reading various display boards such as the Spring Festival tradition, the Chinese zodiac, and the Lantern Festival, and feeling the traditional culture of an ancient country; some students gathered around the photography booth, which displayed the best works that won awards in previous photography competitions, including some of the proud works of Hamilton students. See Seeing the China in the eyes of their classmates, they also had the image of China in their own hearts; some students gathered around the Chinese calligraphy booth and watched the teacher specially invited by the Confucius Institute turn their names into unfamiliar square characters on the spot. They admired the teacher for being able to draw an ink landscape with bamboo and birds with rich artistic conception in just a few strokes. Some curious students have already eagerly picked up their brushes, dipped them in ink, and sketched them out like the teacher did; some students gathered around the traditional toy and decoration booth, excitedly playing with the Chinese knots they had never seen before, and some were learning how to turn handkerchiefs with their fingers. Every booth was in full swing and crowded with people, but the busiest and most attractive ones were the booths with prizes and quizzes. Each student who participates in the prize quiz will randomly get 5 questions about China, which may be about the twelve zodiac animals, holiday information, or Chinese pronunciation. I saw students holding answer sheets in their hands, some were confident, some were full of doubts, some were scratching their heads, or some were confident. Some were working hard on how to say Happy New Year in Chinese, some were asking for help from classmates who were learning Chinese, some went to the display board to find answers, and some simply picked up their mobile phones and searched for answers online. The Confucius Institute has also carefully prepared different gifts for each award. Students who answer correctly will be unable to put down the prizes they receive, and some will even challenge different questions again. The Confucius Institute at Arizona State University specially invited painter Ms. Diana Ho to paint a Chinese painting with the theme of "Celebrating the Year of the Snake" for the principal of Hamilton High School, Dr. Fred DePrez. Ms. Xu Zhiping, Vice President of the Confucius Institute, solemnly presented this painting to President Dr. DePrez on the day of the event, and had a cordial conversation and group photo with the President. Principal Dr. DePrez said that Hamilton’s Chinese courses are very popular among students. Currently, the school offers four levels of Chinese courses. He hopes that the Confucius Institute can hold more similar activities to promote Chinese culture, so that his students can appreciate the charm of Chinese language and Chinese culture outside of class. This event was organized by the Confucius Institute and was a complete success. The students present said that through this event, they learned a lot about China and developed a strong interest in Chinese. They also hope to participate in more such activities in the future to learn more about China. view video clip of Hamilton High School Chinese Culture Day http://confuciusinstitute.asu.edu/portal/node/195. Xu Zhiping, associate dean of the Confucius Institute at Arizona State University, presented New Year pictures to Hamilton High School Principal Dr. Fred DePrez and took photos with some Chinese class students. Photos of lion dances by Hamilton High School students