w88 live casinoFrom January 19 to February 11, 2025, our school, Confucius Institute of Business, Leeds University, UK (hereinafter referred to as "Leeds Confucius Institute"), successfully hosted and co-organized a series of cultural celebrations for the 2025 Year of the Snake Spring Festival. The activities cover colleges, middle schools and business communities in the Leeds area, and are in various forms, including concerts, workshops and literary performances.
1. Love China, love England
On the eve of the Chinese New Year on January 19, 2025, the New Vision Education Chinese School in the UK, as the organizer, with the support of the Leeds City Council and our Leeds Confucius Institute and other institutions, invited teachers and students of the Guangzhou Feiyang No. 6 Middle School Orchestra to hold a performance at the Riley Smith Theatre of Leeds University, bringing a unique Chinese national music feast to the Chinese and local people in Leeds. This New Year concert of "Love in China, Happy Britain" attracted more than 300 Chinese and British audiences, and everyone was immersed in this glorious chapter of the integration of Chinese and Western cultures.
This event was highly valued by the Leeds City Government. Leeds Mayor Abigail Marshall Katung sent a congratulatory message to the concert and personally unveiled the concert. Professor Song Jiwen, Dean of the British side of Leeds Confucius Institute, delivered a New Year's greeting at the beginning of the concert.
Speech by Professor Song Jiwen, Dean of Foreign Affairs
The concert was presented by the Guangzhou Feiyang No. 6 Middle School Orchestra. Talented young performers gathered together to play classic songs such as "Jasmine", "Xiyangyang", and "Golden Snake Dance" with traditional Chinese musical instruments such as guzheng, pipa, erhu, bamboo flute, Ruan, suona, and sheng, showing w88 online casino bettingthe unique charm and artistic charm of Chinese folk music. The melodious melody echoed in the theater. At the end of each song, it was accompanied by the endless applause, and the atmosphere on the scene was extremely warm.
It is reported that this concert is the largest New Year concert of the Chinese national orchestra in Leeds. This grand event not only adds a strong festive atmosphere to the upcoming Spring Festival of the Year of the Snake, but also allows British audiences to deeply feel the profound heritage and unique charm of Chinese traditional music. It is a milestone in cultural exchanges between China and the UK.
2. Happy Snake to celebrate the New Year, happy to make money
On January 29, 2025, the Leeds Confucius Institute held two consecutive New Year celebrations at the Leeds University Business School. Julia Bennell, Dean of the School of Business of the University of Leeds, Niall Hayes, Vice Dean, Jonathan Winterton, Director of International Affairs, and Adrian Stipetic, Head of Confucius Classroom under the Leeds Confucius Institute attended the event; more than 130 students from Confucius Institute and teachers and students from Leeds University attended the event.
Speech by Professor Song Jiwen, Dean of Foreign Affairs
Julia Bennell, Dean of the School of Business of the University of Leeds (first from right) participated in the event
Professor Song Jiwen, Dean of the Foreign Office of the Confucius Institute in Leeds, delivered an opening speech, and welcomed all the guests. Zhang Lijun, a doctoral student at the School of Business, brought wonderful guzheng performances to the audience, performing songs such as "Spring Festival Overture", "Flowers and Moons" and "Friendship forever". The melody of the music is sometimes sonorous and sometimes beautiful, attracting applause from the audience.
Guzheng performance
The on-site Spring Festival celebration kicked off with tasting dumplings. This traditional Chinese Spring Festival delicacy gave everyone a feast for their taste. Chinese volunteer teachers Chen Junyi, Yang Qingyuan and Ye Jing introduced the origin of the Chinese Spring Festival and the customs of writing Spring Festival couplets and cutting window flowers to the audience, and taught everyone to speak "Happy New Year", "Good Year of the Snake", "All I wishes come true" in Mandarin, and interacted with the audience and held a Spring Festival knowledge quiz. The atmosphere was lively.
College photo of Confucius Institute team
At the same time, the Leeds Confucius Institute prepared steaming dumplings and snacks with Chinese characteristics for all the audience. While tasting the Spring Festival food, the audience experienced Chinese paper-cutting and calligraphy under the guidance of Confucius Institute teachers and Chinese guests and students w88 online casino bettingon site, and created exquisite paper-cutting and calligraphy works.
Teachers and students at the University of Leeds experience paper cutting
Participants show Chinese translation
During the event, the Confucius Institute of Leeds also held the award ceremony for the first Chinese writing competition in Leeds, presenting awards to the winners of the competition on site.
Foreign Dean Professor Song Jiwen and tutor Bai Yingying presented awards to the first prize winners of the junior group
3. The golden lion welcomes the spring, dancing the community
On February 1, 2025, Leeds Confucius Institute and Leedsliver Education Chinese School jointly held a wonderful Chinese Year of the Snake Spring Festival celebration at the Merrion Centre Shopping Center in Leeds. Leeds Mayor Abigail Marshall Katung attended the celebration, and Chinese community groups from all walks of life in Leeds gathered to celebrate the Chinese New Year of the Snake with local people through colorful performances and cultural experience activities.
In his speech, Ms. Abigail Marshall Katung, Mayor of Leeds, congratulated the Chinese Year of the Snake Spring Festival, and expressed her gratitude to the organizer for holding this Spring Festival celebration, emphasizing the importance of the Chinese Spring Festival celebration to the multicultural community in Leeds, and expressed to the Chinese on the scene: "Thank you very much for your contribution to this city, the warmth you bring and everything you represent. I hope that while celebrating your own festival, you can also become the guardians of culture. Today, we celebrate the Chinese Lunar New Year together, and I hope that every day of the New Year is full of blessings."
Organizer organized a Chinese Spring Festival cultural workshop and a variety of literary and artistic activities on the day of the celebration, including paper cutting, calligraphy, Chinese painting, guzheng performance, lion dance performance, children's singing performance, and Chinese traditional costume show. At the same time, Leeds Confucius Institute also set up a booth on site to introduce and promote Chinese learning to the audience.
Photo taken by Leeds Mayor and Confucius Institute staff
4. Colorful, full of spring classes
On February 6, 2025, the Confucius Institute in Leeds, Harrogate Grammar School, took the opportunity of the Chinese Spring Festival to carefully organize the "Chinese Language and Culture Activities Day". The event is for seventh grade students of the school, with a total of 300 people. It aims to stimulate students' interest in learning Chinese and Chinese culture, and encourage them to continue to deepen their Chinese in the eighth grade.
Teachers and students try on Hanfu
On the day of the event, the Leeds Confucius Institute team of our school carefully arranged a series of colorful Chinese cultural experience projects, including Chinese calligraphy and painting appreciation and creation, paper-cutting art, Hanfu w88 online casino bettingtrial experience, Guzheng appreciation and interaction, and interesting Chinese experience classes. The students felt the atmosphere of the Chinese Spring Festival and the charm of traditional Chinese art in their immersive cultural experience.
That night, a colorful cultural performance brought a perfect end to the event. The performance sessions include lion dance, acrobatic performances, and Chinese cultural knowledge Q&A, and the audience was immersed in a strong Chinese cultural atmosphere.
Gallery scene
Harrogate Grammar School is a well-known private middle school in the Harrogate area. Since 2015, it has become a Confucius Classroom under the Leeds Confucius Institute. With the support of Leeds Confucius Institute, the school has long provided diverse Chinese courses to students of the school, students from surrounding schools and adults in the local community. Students not only have the opportunity to take the Chinese test for primary and secondary school students (YCT), but also challenge the Chinese test for the General Secondary School Education Certificate (GCSE) after improving their language skills, laying a solid foundation for future academic and professional development.
5. The lanterns of the Year of the Snake, welcoming the Lantern Festival
On February 11, 2025, the Leeds Confucius Institute was invited to Benton Park School in Leeds to bring a cultural experience class on the Chinese Lantern Festival to seventh grade students. Through rich interactive sessions, this activity allows students to immerse themselves in the charm of Chinese traditional culture.
Volunteer teacher Yang Qingyuan took a photo with the students
At the beginning of the event, Mr. Yang Qingyuan, a Chinese volunteer at Leeds Confucius Institute, quickly attracted the attention of students with interesting guessing riddles. In a relaxed and pleasant atmosphere, the students not only experienced the traditional customs of the Lantern Festival - guessing riddles, but also learned about the historical and cultural connotations of the Lantern Festival.
Public teacher Bai Yingying took a photo with her students
Subsequently, Mr. Bai Yingying from the Confucius Institute in Leeds led the students to make Chinese lanterns. Under the guidance of Teacher Bai, the students carefully designed and made their own lanterns, while learning the symbolic meaning of colors and shapes in lantern design.
After the event, the students not only gained a deeper understanding of the traditional customs of the Lantern Festival, but also brought the lanterns made by themselves to home as a precious souvenir of this cultural experience. Many students said that this is the first time they have been exposed to Chinese culture so closely. They not only feel the fun and wisdom, but also stimulate their interest in Chinese learning. They look forward to more opportunities to have in-depth understanding of Chinese and Chinese culture in the future.
