The Rat is also associated with the Earthly Branch, Zi, and the midnight hours. In terms of Yinand Yang, the Rat belongs to Yangand represents the beginning of a new day. In Chinese culture, rats were seen as a sign of wealth and surplus. Because of their reproduction rate, married couples also prayed to them to have children.

The year of the Rat is characterized by innovation and intelligence. To welcome the year of the Rat, how was the celebration happening at Yew Chung International School of Qingdao? Let’s have a look at our Chinese New Year activities held on January 16th, 2020!

In the morning, our Early Child Education, Primary, and Secondary students had multiple opportunities to experience traditional Chinese culture by rotating through various stations such as baking, paper cutting, pitch-pot, rubbing, folk-dancing, and so on.

The traditional activities offered them a chance to better experience and understand the traditional Chinese festival and reflect on the Chinese culture.

In the afternoon, our Chinese Department teachers took the lead in the organisation of the Temple Fair, Yew Chung’s China Town. It featured some traditional Chinese performances, handicrafts, interactive games, and snacks, where students and parents exposed themselves to a full possibility of learning about Chinese culture and the development of their appreciation for diversity.

It is worth mentioning that the Temple Fair stage was built with 100% wood and texture, rather than plastics. As the whole school community has been excited about, the upcoming event of the 10th Anniversary Seeds of Hope Concert, which will take place on March 28th, 2020. Themed as “Refuse to Use Single-Use Plastics,” the Chinese New Year celebration also uniquely contributed itself, to reduce the number of plastic items and to make a better world.