Chinese

Chinese Exchange Programme

Earlier this year, NHEHS welcomed pupils from Beijing 80 High School to give them the opportunity to experience life as a student in the UK. They had the chance to participate in school lessons, explore London and they even taught us about their own culture by performing a traditional dance in the Chinese New Year assembly. On the weekend, NHEHS girls studying Chinese each invited an exchange student to spend a day with them and took them sightseeing, touring their favourite places in London. We were fascinated to hear how they enjoyed their time here and asked them to talk about their experiences...

“We have to arrive at our classrooms at 7:00am...our school day is over at 5:05pm”

Annie: “London is a historical city, and to me, it is magical.”

Sunny: “I found a lot of differences between English schools and Chinese schools. We usually get up at 6:00am and have to arrive at our classrooms at 7:00am but English students get to school much later than us. Our school day is over at 5:05pm but English schools end earlier than ours.” Monica: “Every day, there would be buddies to take us to different classes. They were kind and I made huge progress with my English in only a few days.”

Elena: “The school in England is very different from the school in China. We have a different number of students, we have different timetables, we even have different content in the same subject in the same year.”

“Here in England, in NHEHS, students just talk about what they’re thinking and answer the questions freely. They don’t mind if they are right or wrong and the opinions of others.”

Chinese Festivals That You May Not Have Heard Of

元宵节

The Lantern Festival takes place on the first month of the lunar year of the traditional Chinese calendar. Eating sticky rice dumplings, attending exhibits of coloured lanterns and guessing riddles are the most important folk customs of this celebration. The Lantern Festival is also known to be a romantic festival. In traditional feudal society, it provided unmarried men and women with the opportunity to get to know each other.

中秋节

Mid-Autumn Festival is a popular, multiethnic traditional culture festival for all countries in the Chinese cultural influence circle. It is a celebration of the reunion of the moon’s people. Celebrators use it to remember their hometown, think of their loved ones and look forward to a good harvest and happiness. Mooncakes, which are traditionally eaten during this festival and are treated as indispensable delicacies, have also appeared in western countries as an exotic sweet. Have you tried them?

清明节

This is also known as Tomb-Sweeping Day and it normally falls on 4th or 5th April. Qing Ming festival is an important time for showing respect and thanks to dead ancestors. It is the central day of sacrifice for the majority of people. The most popular activities include tomb upkeep and repair, spring outings, kite flying, and putting willow branches on gates.

重阳节

Chongyang Festival, also called the Double Ninth Festival, is a special day for people to eat Chongyang cake, drink chrysanthemum wine, climb mountains, and pay homage to chrysanthemums. This year, the festival is on Wednesday 17th October. The festival commemorates Huan Jing, who supposedly killed the devil of the plague.

Natasha Ketel, Year 12

In February, Beijing High School students visited the British Museum with Year 9 NHEHS girls, enjoying a delciious Chinese meal after the trip in Chinatown.