From July 3 through July 5, the CFLC “Western Spread of Eastern Culture” Summer Social Practice Group ran a series of lessons on Chinese culture for international students.  The “Chinese traditional Food” lesson gave the international students a taste of China’s unique food culture, while the “Chinese Tea Culture” lesson provided them with an opportunity to understand the long history of Chinese tea and to appreciate the uniqueness of Chinese tea. In the “Chinese calligraphy and painting” lesson, the international students tried their hands at Chinese calligraphy and painting, gaining a deeper understanding of the long history of Chinese aesthetics.

On the afternoon of July 3, the “Chinese traditional cuisine” lesson was held on the second floor of Furong Canteen as scheduled. China’s long history has given birth to a unique, extensive and profound food culture. In this lesson, members of the CFLC social practice team started with dumplings, one of the most typical traditional Chinese foods, to give the international students an understanding of the characteristics and charm of Chinese food culture.

International students try their hands at making dumplings

Chinese and international students taste the dumplings that they have made

Before the lesson started, members of the social practice team went to the cafeteria window to collect dumpling wrappers, fillings, flour and other materials that had been prepared for the hands-on session. At the beginning of the lesson, the Chinese students briefly introduced the origin, variety and special cultural meaning of dumplings to the international students. Afterwards, they gave a step-by-step demonstration of the dumpling making process to the international students, who then quickly got the hang of dumpling making. Finally, the Chinese and international students cooked and tasted the dumplings that they had made together, and even shared them with the canteen staff.

On the evening of July 4, the “Western Spread of Eastern Culture” social practice team gave a lesson on “Chinese tea culture” in Nanguang Classroom 211. First of all, Song Yaxin briefly introduced the development history of tea art to the international students present, and used vivid animation to illustrate the important position of tea culture in China and the spread of tea culture to the outside world. Afterwards, Wu Lijie introduced different kinds of tea and tea sets with a display of real items. The international students learned the steps of making tea in a warm and pleasant classroom atmosphere.

A Chinese student demonstrates tea brewing to international students

An international student tries to distinguish different types of tea

After a detailed explanation of the theory, the Chinese students showed the international students how to make tea. Everyone picked their favorite types of tea leaves for brewing and sampling. In the fragrance of tea, the international students appreciated the charm of Chinese tea culture. The Chinese students also designed various interesting games for the international students. In one of the games, the international students were asked to distinguish the different kinds of tea by smelling rather than seeing. After the lesson ended, the international students were given their favorite tea as a gift.

A Chinese student introduces Chinese calligraphy

International students try their hands at Chinese calligraphy by copying

An international student tries her hand at Chinese painting

In the lesson, the international students explored different ways of making brush strokes; they received a solid introduction to the materials, tools and the painting subject, with hand-on opportunities to create evocative brush paintings. They came to appreciate Chinese painting as a fun, relaxing, and interesting painting process.

The Chinese and international students demonstrate their creative works

Through these lessons, the international students deepened their understanding of Chinese traditional culture and profound Chinese cultural heritage. On the other hand, the Chinese students improved their spoken English skills and built friendships.  They said that they would continue to offer international students lessons on traditional Chinese musical instruments and folk songs, Chinese classical poetry, and mini-talks themed on the Belt and Road Initiative.