Chinese Excursion
On the 13th of June Chinese language classes went on an excursion to the Confucius Institute at The University of Adelaide to take part in a Chinese Peking Opera mask workshop and also visited Adelaide Chinatown to gain knowledge of the Chinese culture as part of our studies.
Students learnt that the Chinese Peking Opera or Beijing Opera (Chinese: 京剧; pinyin: JÄ«ngjù) is a form of Chinese opera which combines music, vocal performance, mime, dance, and acrobatics. With a history of over 200 years, it arose in the late 18th century and became fully developed and recognized by the mid-19th century.
All students made a traditional Chinese Peking opera mask. Everyone got to choose their own colour and design their own mask, using paint and brushes. Each colour indicates a characteristic, for example, red represents loyalty and bravery, whilst white represents the evil and hypocritical.
After the work shop finished we made our way to Chinatown for lunch. Students enjoyed trying different kinds of Chinese food, such as honey chicken, sweet and sour pork, spring rolls, beef and vegetables, fried rice, fried chicken, fish, noodles, etc. Students learnt how to use Chinese chopsticks to eat Chinese food. Afterwards students had the opportunity to explore Chinatown and do some shopping. They bought some Chinese sweets such as, coffee lollies, pocky and BBQ stick, some also stopped by the bubble tea shop to get some bubble tea.
This excursion allowed students to experience the influence Chinese culture has had on Australia’s multicultural society.
Juan Li
Chinese Teacher
