Summer Camp 2019

From 13 to 27 July, the Groningen Confucius Institute 2019 Summer Camp took place. A team of sixteen students from the Netherlands, Germany and Russia participated in the two-week long summer camp, during which they studied Chinese at the Communication University of China (CUC)in Beijing. They visited the Summer Palace, the Forbidden City, the Great Wall, Beijing’s Hutongs (narrow streets) and other famous tourist attractions in order to personally experience Chinese culture. They also visited the Confucius Institute headquarters.

Visiting the Communication University of China in Beijing (CUC)

Taking Chinese language courses at CUC

Camp members in front of the Summer Palace

Camp members in front of the Forbidden City

This year, the summer camp included a lot of tours to other cities besides Beijing. The team travelled to the province of Henan via high-speed train, where they watched Wushu (Chinese martial arts), learned Wushu etiquette and gave a presentation at the Shaolin Temple Wushu School in the city of Dengfeng. During their stay in Dengfeng, the team also visited the Shaolin Temple together to experience the heritage of Chinese Wushu culture.

Camp members at the Shaolin Temple Wushu School

After leaving Dengfeng, the summer camp team visited the famous Longmen Grottoes in the nearby city of Luoyang. Then, they travelled on to the province of Shaanxi to visit the Terracotta Army, known as the “eighth wonder of the world”, and learned about ancient Chinese history and culture at the Shaanxi History Museum.

Camp members performing Wushu at the Shaanxi History Museum

As the main organizer, the Groningen Confucius Institute facilitates summer camps like this every year, which are dedicated to promoting Sino-Dutch communication and friendship. Follow our Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn or visit our website to learn more about next year’s summer camp (the information will be updated).