A TOTAL of 316 Chinese children from eight countries came to Qingdao to learn Chinese culture. The children are all raised in countries such as the United States, Spain, New Zealand, Germany, Indonesia, Australia and Brazil. They will spend 15 days in Qingdao learning Mandarin, calligraphy, paper cutting and folk culture and have their first traditional Chinese New Year.

    Qingdao is one of the nine cities to host the activity. Apart from 27 leaders, the rest are all Chinese students.

    Twelve students were born in the United States and some have families that have been in the country for three generations. After a local newspaper in the United States reported the activity, more than 100 Chinese children applied. “I know cities such as Wuhan, Guangzhou, Harbin and Chongqing have similar winter camps, but I want to come to Qingdao the most,” said Zhu Bingfeng.

    Yang Bizhen, an 18-year-old university student from Myanmar said she had learnt Chinese, but her parents were born in Myanmar, and knew little about China, so she wanted to come to learn more about her motherland.

    Indonesian Shen Xiufen, 63, is the oldest member at the camp. Shen’s four children all studied in China and her grandson is also in the camp because she wants him to learn Chinese.

    Most of the members are Chinese with yellow skin and black eyes and hair, but the sisters and brother from Australia, Liang Yanling, Liang Yiqiang and Liang Yihan, are mixed-race.

    Their mother is Chinese but they have a British father. “My dad does not speak Chinese and my mother can just speak a little because she can only speak Cantonese, so we can just communicate in English at home,” said Liang Yanling.

    “We prefer Chinese cuisine to British food, but my mother does not know about cooking, so we want to learn here,” said Liang.

    According to the organizer, the 316 Chinese children will stay in Qingdao for 15 days. They will have half a day at Chinese training every day and will also visit scenic spots such as the Olympic Sailing Center, Qingdao Museum and Laoshan Mountain. They will also learn courses such as Chinese geography, Chinese history, Chinese martial art, folk dance, paper cutting, calligraphy and traditional Chinese painting.

    (Wang Yuanyuan, Qing Bao)