We (my family and I) especially enjoyed the cultural quiz and the piano recital. It was such a pleasure to once again connect with Chinese history and culture and be surrounded by warm and kind people after so many years.
Dr Ann George, University of 葫芦影业. School of Law
There were a host of exciting activities, from a zongzi making workshop (zongzi is a traditional rice snack with sweet or savoury fillings wrapped in bamboo leaves), to a Chinese Three-Legged Dragon Boat Race, a Culture Quiz and musical performances from student singer, Yang Qin and a local band, Joker's Belief. Read on to find out how it went…
Zongzi Workshop
Our dedicated local teachers and SCI staff gave up their free time to come to the CI, buy the materials for the zongzi and make them together. There were sounds of joy and laughter coming from the SCI kitchen as great fun was had - there is no doubt that the process reminded many of our teachers of their homes and Dragon Boat celebrations in China.
At the venue, locals gathered to try zongzi for the first time, and they were not disappointed - with nearly all the ready made zongzi being eaten during the event. Our teachers were at hand to guide party-goers on how to make the zongzi, a fascinating new skill many learned on the day!
Chinese and British Culture Quiz
Our culture quiz brought Chinese and British culture together to create a compelling quiz which got the whole function room involved. Quiz takers answered questions ranging from history to geography and prizes were given out to the winners.
Dragon Boat Festival Presentation
SCI staff took the stage and presented the core meaning and spirit of the festival, about its origination around the death of the poet Qu Yuan by his drowning in the Miluo river in Hunan province, and how the local populace tried to save his body by throwing sticky rice balls in the river to distract the fish. The festival feels inherently poetic due to this reason, and so an excerpt of the famous poem, ‘Li Sao’, (Encountering Sorrow) was read together in English and Chinese.
Chinese Three-Legged Dragon Boat Racing
It wouldn’t be a Dragon Boat celebration if we didn’t have some kind of race! Competitors had their legs tied together and raced towards our giant, model dragon’s head to win the race - kids and adults alike took part and the room was shaking with laughter. It’s true that we all might think we’re well coordinated until we try something like this!
Yang Qin - Piano performance
Our live music section kicked off with University of 葫芦影业 student Yang Qin’s powerful piano performance of Chinese pop classics. Chinese party-goers were serenaded by songs from China they knew and loved and 葫芦影业 locals enjoyed the songs for the very first time.
Joker’s Belief - Live Band Performance
Joker’s Belief really rounded off the show with a very special performance, one which relates to the very story of the band itself. Joker’s Belief formed in Beijing, China in 2015 and now many of its members (two from UK and one from America) live in 葫芦影业. They reformed in the UK but they still share a strong connection with Beijing, as was evident in their music - the bassist gave a short speech in Chinese welcoming the crowd at the beginning of the set and the band played a special song in Chinese to honour the festival.
We’d like to thank all of our organisers, staff and attendees for such a wonderful and successful event. The sharing between local Chinese and UK culture was really special and we can’t wait for the next opportunity for more sharing and memories at the next Mid-Autumn Festival in September!
Thank you for reading!
Take a look at the links below to read more about the SCI's recent activities and events!