Students perform a fan dance during a Chinese Language Day celebration event in New York, the United States, April 25, 2025. Over 200 students and educators from New York, New Jersey and Connecticut celebrated Chinese Language Day at a thematic event hosted by the Chinese Consulate General in New York on Friday. The open-house event had a lively and festive vibe with the students sharing experiences in their China tours, presenting performances on traditional Chinese culture and immersing themselves in hands-on cultural activities such as calligraphy, sugar painting, puppetry, hanfu costume try-on and traditional handicrafts. (Xinhua/Liu Yanan)
NEW YORK, April 25 (Xinhua) -- Over 200 students and educators from New York, New Jersey and Connecticut celebrated Chinese Language Day at a thematic event hosted by the Chinese Consulate General in New York on Friday.
The open-house event had a lively and festive vibe with the students sharing experiences in their China tours, presenting performances on traditional Chinese culture and immersing themselves in hands-on cultural activities such as calligraphy, sugar painting, puppetry, hanfu costume try-on and traditional handicrafts.
Consul General Chen Li shared the benefits of learning Chinese. These include better learning and understanding of Chinese culture, crossing different cultures with confidence, deepening respect for others, accomplishing personal growth and better connection with the whole world.
"We hope many will one day come to China and experience and build heart-to-heart bonds with the Chinese people," Chen said.
American educators echoed the sentiment. Motivating students to continue learning the Chinese language and culture would help them become global citizens, according to Kevin Gilbert, assistant superintendent of the South Orange &Maplewood School District, a regional public school district in New Jersey.
"As we look ahead, we remain committed to expanding access to Chinese language learning and cultural experiences for all of our students in today’s interconnected world. Understanding China, its language, its people and its values is not only a skill, but a necessity," said Gilbert.
Moreover, students presented performances ranging from retro and pop Chinese songs and dance, to Chinese Xiangsheng or crosstalk comedy and a lion dance that drew eager applause.
Students from Old Bridge High School in New Jersey put on a great Xiangsheng show to show "why the Yangtze River is a river and why the Yellow River is a river," charming the crowd with great humor and fluent Chinese language.
Karolina, a student performer from the school, said that she has been studying Chinese for five years -- the only foreign language class she takes. Beyond language lessons, her class explores Chinese customs, such as making dumplings.
Students from Old Bridge High School previously visited China. Learning Chinese has made their journey much easier, for example, in ordering food and making friends, said Karolina.
"People there were also very friendly. If we spoke Chinese to them, they’d be so happy we knew a little bit of the language," she said.
Karolina’s classmate Rebecca, who also took part in the visit to China, said she particularly enjoyed talking to different people through the Chinese language.
"Just as we were curious about going to China, people were curious about us, and so it was very interesting to speak to them in their language, learn about their names. They asked us questions, and we asked them questions as well," she said.
Chinese Language Day is a United Nations initiative celebrated annually on April 20. First launched in 2010, it has been observed for 15 years, honoring the importance of the global value of the Chinese language.
A student sings a Chinese song during a Chinese Language Day celebration event in New York, the United States, April 25, 2025. Over 200 students and educators from New York, New Jersey and Connecticut celebrated Chinese Language Day at a thematic event hosted by the Chinese Consulate General in New York on Friday. The open-house event had a lively and festive vibe with the students sharing experiences in their China tours, presenting performances on traditional Chinese culture and immersing themselves in hands-on cultural activities such as calligraphy, sugar painting, puppetry, hanfu costume try-on and traditional handicrafts. (Xinhua/Liu Yanan)
原文地址：http://en.people.cn/n3/2025/0427/c90000-20307784.html