China Day provides staff and students of all education levels the opportunity to become familiar with and embrace Chinese language and culture through lessons, lectures, demonstrations and interactive workshops.
China Day
Available topics
- Calligraphy
- This workshop combines lesson with practice. Students will begin learning about the history and importance of calligraphy, its evolution and key tools. They will be guided through the basic strokes before trying to produce the character 永 yǒng, meaning 'forever' or 福, meaning ‘lucky’. Students will be provided with ink, brushes and ample paper to practice before transferring their skills to red paper to demonstrate their character skill. There will be extra time for students to practice additional characters and possible Chinese names if they wish.
- Handcrafts
Papercrafts
From paper cutting to paper folding, this session will teach students step by step to produce a 3D paper cut of chūn 春 to display for the Spring Festival or create a paper folded frog.
Chinese Knot Making
Chinese knots, also known as 中国结 Zhōngguójié and 'decorative knots' in non-Chinese culture, is handcraft that began in the Tang and Song dynasty (960-1279 CE). This session will teach students the art of simple Chinese knot make, going step-by-step to creating their own colourful knots.
- Tai Chi
- In this fully movement focused workshop, students will be guided through the basic steps of a Tai Chi sequence. Focusing on breathing, speed and position of movements, and finding a sense of grounding, students will get a first glimpse into this much beloved moving meditation.
- Kung Fu
- In this fully movement focused workshop, students will be guided through basic Kung Fu steps. Focusing on breathing, speed, position of movements, and flow, students will get a first glimpse into this much beloved martial art.
- Tea ceremony
- In this session, students will be taught all about tea culture in China. They will be introduced to the tools employed in a tea ceremony and daily drinking culture before being taken through a traditional tea ceremony. Following the demonstration, students will have the opportunity to taste traditional Chinese teas.
- Beijing Opera Mask Painting
- Beijing Opera is a national treasure of China. Among all its features, facial painting is one of the most distinct. In this workshop, participants are introduced to this traditional art form and will create their own masks. We will share the “mystery of colours” -- how colours symbolize characters' personalities. Participants will be provided with practice papers, markers and when they are ready can personalise a blank mask to represent their personality and take away with them.
- Food and culture
- This workshop bring together taste and learning. Students will learn the typical Chinese cuisines, Chinese Festival foods and the all important table manners do's and don'ts. After a short pick up practice game to learn the best way to use chopsticks, it'll be time for students to put their learning to the test while they try different Chinese dishes, drinks and snacks!
- Chinese language taster
- Learn the basics of Mandarin Chinese in our 1-hour taster. From tone pronunciation to greetings and daily phrases, students will have the chance to try out one of the world’s most spoken languages. Students will also be introduced to aspects of Chinese history and culture, through interactive activities such as pair work, group work, role-play, quizzes, and games. At the end of the workshop, students will realise that learning Chinese could be a lot of fun!
Our workshops can be held in schools or at the Oxford Brookes University Headington Campus. These are often 1-hour in duration with a maximum 30 participants per workshop.
There is a charge of £50 per 1-hour workshop, which includes all materials. This charge does not include Food and Culture workshops or Beijing Opera Mask Painting, which have an additional £20 charge for the extra materials required.
For workshops held at schools there may be an additional transportation charge if our staff require the use of busses, trains or taxis.
Fees are raised to a single individual or institution and should be paid in line with the Oxford Brookes University financial details stipulated on the invoice. Unfortunately, we cannot accept cash or individual participant payments for workshops.