We wish you a Hopping New Year of the Rabbit!
Over the past week, red and golden rabbits arrived at Dulwich College Beijing to help kick off an exciting week of Chinese New Year celebrations!
Creatively crafted by a handful of staff volunteers, these festive bunnies have made the atrium their holiday home during our Chinese New Year celebrations. Some were found relaxing amongst green spaces; others curiously explored the “Weaving” decorations put together by our lovely DUCKS children, with the expert guidance of Art Teacher Jacob Dong. Our new “chandelier” in the atrium has been dazzling passers-by, projecting amazing lighting onto the rabbits and the entire area.
“Children in KS1 contributed to this piece. It is indeed a collaborative effort by these young students,” said Jacob Dong. “All year groups in DUCKS have been learning different weaving techniques in the last art session. They used different paper and recycled materials to weave this giant circle. It was not sophisticated art skills, but the commitment from these children, and the effort they put into this over a long period, made this special. I’m glad the piece complements the festival decorations so well. The children can be very proud of themselves.”
But there were more celebratory feels to be experienced across the College. From dumpling-making and paper cutting to fan painting and Chinese calligraphy, students from DUCKS, Junior School and Senior School were immersed in a wide range of traditional and enriching Chinese New Year activities. Some students painted adorable rabbits, while others made rabbits from clay. And hard-to-miss was the packed Student Service Centre where students and staff members gathered to enjoy the student-run CNY bazaar.
The Senior School Chinese Spring Festival Gala has been incredibly artistic this year since, for the first time ever, the annual Chinese Short Film Festival has been included in the programme. Lu Chen, Head of Senior School Chinese shared with us how proud she is of the students, as they had demonstrated incredible resilience by finding time to carry out their studies (online!) and still getting their productions done in time for this. Kudos to these students!
And in addition to these hard-earned short films, the gala also showcased versatile performances including Latin dance, figure skating, piano playing and singing, zither, Chinese costume show, lion dance, Chinese Kungfu, and more. Everyone was fascinated by the well-produced folk dance to the famous Chinese cartoon Big Fish Begonia theme song.
The students certainly deserve a huge round of applause!
2023 represents the Year of the Rabbit, an animal that symbolizes longevity, peace, and prosperity in the Chinese zodiac. From everyone here at DCB, we wish you all a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year of the Rabbit!
