Wellington College Tianjin Celebrates the Chinese New Year

January 10th, 2022 was the 8th day of the twelfth month in the lunar calendar, an important day before the Chinese New Year. On that day, the outbreak of the epidemic hit the city. However, the situation could not stop the city nor the College from celebrating the Chinese New Year. Traditional decorations were placed around the city, reminding people that New Year was fast approaching. Here at Wellington, the pupils and teachers adapted to e-learning in a very short time. The teachers worked together to provide high-quality education, whilst also preparing various activities related to the New Year. In this cold season, the camaraderie between staff made all of us feel warmhearted.

In the Senior School, while preparing for the New Year, pupils in years 7-9 became very interested in how their parents spent the festival when they were young. Guided by the teachers, the pupils made an interesting questionnaire. The parents joined the activity by answering questions about their memories of childhood. The e-classroom became an interesting place to share and learn. The pupils had so much fun. After the sharing session, they compared the Chinese New Year with other festivals around the world. Some pupils thought that more and more Chinese people were interested in Western culture, so we should try and attract more young people to pay attention to the traditional values of Chinese festivals and balance the relationship between Western and Chinese festivals. Some pupils thought that when people created so many new ‘festivals’ such as ‘double 11’, ‘double 12’ and ‘shopping festival’, the concept of the festival was different. Their opinion was that it was the young people’s responsibility to keep the traditional meaning of festivals, instead of endless consumption. People should care about the values of the festivals in history and culture. Pupils researched topics they were interested in and actively engaged in the class. We all had fun and learned a great deal.

E-learning in the Junior School was really exciting. Pupils in year 5 and 6 expressed their anticipation of the New Year and their goals using paper and paint brushes. As young pupils, it was quite impressive that they all drew something about Tianjin fighting the epidemic in their posters and designs. The pupils let us feel their determination and confidence to fight the epidemic together with their hands and imagination.

Across the whole school, teachers supported a wide range of interesting activities related to Mandarin learning. Our second online International Chinese Language Festival attracted the attention of many pupils. This was a worldwide Mandarin competition in which participants are mostly students. In their traditional costumes, the participants used Mandarin to express their passion for Chinese culture and language. Pupils expressed their hope for the future with interesting stories, with some showing their skills by completing beautiful traditional Chinese paintings and calligraphy. Pupils showed us how passionate and motivated they were and let the whole Wellington Community feel the joy of learning Chinese.

If we say that the Chinese Language Festival was a lively carnival, the essay competition was more like an elegant winding river. Our pupils have certainly made so much progress in Mandarin learning. While typing out the Chinese characters, they let their thoughts and ideas fly freely. A number of pupils kept up with current affairs and wrote about what happened with them and their families during the epidemic. They really created some amazing work. Well done!

In addition to the essay competition, more and more pupils linked Mandarin learning with their experiences during the epidemic. The Wellington community worked together, prepared and contributed to the safety and wellbeing of our pupils, parents and teachers. We wish you all a wonderful, peaceful and healthy Chinese New Year.