At Mashrek International School: ‘Abu-Ghazaleh-Confucius Institute’ Holds Chinese Culture Festival and “Confucius Institute Day”

On October 9, TAG-Confucius Institute (TAG-CI) has successfully held the Chinese Culture Festival and the “Confucius Institute Day”: event at Mashrak International School. The event was attended by: Dr. Yang Songfang, Chinese Director of TAG-CI, Mr. Mamoun Abu Al-Sebaa, Jordanian Director of TAG-CI, Ms. Randa Al- Yabroudi, Deputy Director of TAG-CI, Ms. Salwa Hanna, Head of Activity Department of Mashrek International School.

About 180 people participated in the various activities including the teachers of TAG-CI and the students and teachers of Grade Four of the school. The atmosphere at the venue was lively with Chinese decorations, and with the student’ joy while experiencing the unique charm of Chinese language and culture.

The event included tea ceremony, paper-cutting, traditional Chinese puzzle games, Chinese calligraphy, traditional Chinese costume and Chinese experience class.

The tea ceremony presented by Ms. Randa Al-Yabroudi aroused great interest by both the students and the teachers. They not only tasted the fragrant tea, but also gained a deeper understanding of Chinese tea culture and felt the etiquette, elegance, and love for life conveyed by tea ceremony.

Under the guidance of teacher Guan Xia, the students personally tried the traditional Chinese paper-cutting art and learned how to cut beautiful patterns with scissors. Each student got a gift of paper-cutting from the teacher.

Traditional Chinese puzzle games were full of fun and challenges, including tangram, gobang and chopstick competition. The students learned through challenges and experienced the fun and wisdom of traditional Chinese culture in the games.

The calligraphy experience activity had attracted the attention of many students. Teacher Zang Xiaonan gave each participating student a Chinese name and explained the meaning of the given name. Each student received a beautiful card with his/her Chinese name written on it with a brush. They did not just feel the unique charm of Chinese characters, but they also understood the profound cultural connotations behind the name. 

The traditional Chinese costumes were so eye-catching that the students competed to try them on and had photos taken. Dr. Yang Songfang explained to the students the cultural spirit and aesthetic ideas contained in the costumes of different dynasties in China, helping them experience the elegance and dignity of ancient Chinese costumes.

The Chinese experience class was taught by a special teacher— Mr. Mamoun Abu Al-Sebaa. The students gathered around him, attentively listening to his lectures in a fun and an entertaining way, sometimes repeating loudly and sometimes laughing happily. They learned Chinese daily expressions such as “Hello” “Thank you” “You’re welcome” “Goodbye”, etc. Everyone felt the joy of learning a new language.

Ms. Salva Hanna highly praised the event, expressing that such cultural experience activities could help cultivate the students’ global perspectives, promote cross-cultural exchanges and hoped to have further cooperation with TAG-CI in the future. Dr. Yang Songfang explained that the event aimed to provide the students with an opportunity to broaden their horizons, expand their interests, experience the charm of different languages and cultures, and maintain an open attitude towards unknown fields. In the future, TAG-CI will continue to implement cultural exchange projects at local schools and communities to promote friendly exchanges and cooperation between China and Jordan.