UK students celebrate Chinese Language Day in London

Immersing themselves in the rich tapestry of Chinese culture, nearly 100 students from four secondary schools in the United Kingdom converged in London on Thursday to mark the 15th United Nations Chinese Language Day, experimenting with movable-type printing, exploring Chinese character history, and engaging in Chinese fan dance.

The UN Chinese Language Day is observed annually on April 20 to pay tribute to Cangjie, who claimed to be the inventor of Chinese characters.

The UN established language days for Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, and Spanish to celebrate multilingualism and cultural diversity, as well as to promote equal use of all six official languages throughout the organization.

The London event, organized by the Chinese Bridge Club in the UK and the Chinese Proficiency Test UK Committee, and directed by the Education Section of China’s Embassy in the UK, offered six on-site workshops and a digital tour of Sanxingdui, an archaeological site in Southwest China’s Sichuan province, demonstrating the high level of civilization in Sichuan some 3,000 years ago.