Today is the final day of school at the Yew Chung International School of Beijing and second last day in the Lunar Calendar before we bid farewell to the Year of the Pig and usher in the Year of the Rat. Our campus has been buzzing with activities since Monday with our Early Childhood Education (ECE) learners taking to the stage in our school’s longstanding tradition of holiday concerts, where students perform songs and dances in celebration of the Spring Festival, one of China’s major holidays  biggest holiday.

On the same day, two of our Primary School students also took part in an off-campus activity where they had the opportunity to perform and showcase their musical pieces to members of our Balizhuang Community which saw share the stage with ethnic minority groups of the community, dragon dancers and Peking opera singing groups, amongst many other invited guests.

Year 6 student, Chan Hok Sum performed “Blackbird” by the legendary British group, The Beatles and Year 5 Wu Ziyue performed a piece on violin. Both acts left our fellow community members impressed and were the perfect addition to the community’s Chinese New Year celebrations.

On Wednesday the Primary Beautiful China Performances and Temple Fair took place after weeks of preparations led by our Chinese teachers, Performing Arts Department as well as class tutors. Students clad in their best Chinese traditional outfits, poured their hearts into the performances and enjoyed the stalls at the fair co-organised and run by Secondary School students.

The Primary School Beautiful China Performances were entertaining and, at the same time, educational. Our students proudly showed their audiences what they have learned about Chinese Culture. Some performances incorporated elements of what students learned during their Chinese Studies lessons which topic was “Tradition & Culture”. The titles of the performances were as follows;

Year 5A – The Beijing OperaYear 3B – Chinese Calligraphy Year 5B - Shadow Puppet PlayYear 6B – The History of Chinese Porcelain Year 5C – Welcoming the New Year with Fans and DancesYear 4A - Tea Rhythm

Other performances focused on the discovery of Chinese History and Traditions. Each one of them was an extension of the students ‘Chinese Culture learning beautifully represented by the following Year Groups:

Year 2D – The Twelve Animals of the Chinese Zodiac Years 2E & 6A – The 24 Solar TermsYears 2B & 3A – Traditional Chinese Games Year 6C – Auspicious Celebration (Different Minorities)Year 1D – Chinese Traditional Painting Year 4C – Ancient Clothes JourneyYear 2A – Chinese Characters Year 1A – Pandas

In celebration of the Spring Festival, some of the performances also highlighted other related aspects of this tradition in a string of topics such as:

Year 4B – Spring Flower FairYear 3D – A Taste of Chinese Food Year 2C – Rattles of Nursery Rhymes Year 3C – The God of Wealth Year 1A – This is Beijing

Last but not least, Year 1C students performed a piece entitled “Mum, You are so Beautiful When you Smile” which highlighted another important aspect of Chinese tradition, the “Appreciation and Respect for our Parents”.

Temple Fair booths showcased activities and products associated with Chinese holidays for the school community to enjoy, as executed by the Secondary school teams.

Whether it’s putting up spring couplets, making dumplings or visiting relatives, we hope you have a wonderful break and Spring Festival celebrations with your loved ones.