Students of the Mandarin class at Lycee Francais International Elite de Tyr sing a Chinese nursery song together with students of No.7 Primary School from China’s Huizhou City via online video on April 10, local time. (mod.gov.cn/Photo by Meng Zhuolin)
By Sang Yangyang and Meng Zhuolin
BEIRUT, April 15 (ChinaMil) – Organized by the engineering construction contingent of the 17th Chinese peacekeeping force to Lebanon, two schools in China and Lebanon carried out online cultural exchange activities for the first time on April 10, local time.
Since last November, Chinese peacekeepers have begun to teach Chinese Mandarin courses at the invitation of the Lebanese school. At present, the school has a total of five Chinese Mandarin classes with more than 100 students.
This time, students from the two schools introduced themselves and performed their specialties during the exchange activities. At Lycee Francais International Elite de Tyr, Lebanese students sang their folk songs and performed traditional dances. While at Huizhou No. 7 Primary School, Chinese students also prepared calligraphy shows, martial arts, folk songs and other programs for their Lebanese counterparts. In a lively atmosphere, students from both sides showed great enthusiasm and interacted frequently.
The Secretary-General of the French Association for Education and Culture in Lebanon said: “With the help of the Chinese peacekeepers, our school has the opportunity to conduct online exchanges with Chinese schools, overcoming the obstacles of long distance and different languages. It helps us feel more connected to each other and opens the door for our students to know China better and learn from China.”
Zheng Limin, principal of Huizhou No.7 Primary School in China, said: “The Chinese peacekeeping forces provide a great platform for us to actively explore a new way of cultural exchanges, which allows our students to meet new friends, broaden horizons and experience different cultures.”
It is reported that since November last year, the Chinese peacekeeping engineering construction contingent had sent more than 10 teachers for various subjects to the school every week. At the same time, they organized activities on a monthly basis to introduce Chinese culture traditions, including martial arts, Chinese cuisine and so on.
The deputy captain of the engineering construction contingent of the 17th Chinese peacekeeping force to Lebanon said: “As UN peacekeepers, we shoulder the important mission of maintaining peace. At the same time, we also try to take this opportunity to be a good messenger of Chinese culture. We go to local schools to teach Chinese Mandarin, spread Chinese culture and explore the establishment of a students’ exchange platform, hoping that the two countries’ friendship and cultural exchanges can be extended and carried forward among children of both countries.”
