Children’s Day (兒童節) is an important holiday around the world. In China, Children’s Day is celebrated on June 1st, while Hong Kong celebrates on April 4th. Although it’s often celebrated on different days, they all share one thing in common: honoring children.
Even though it is a holiday for children, most elementary pupils in China still have to attend a half-day of school , when they will participate in a variety of activities. Field trips (郊游) are popular at this time of year. Teachers may take their students to a park, a museum, or a zoo. Even if you only stay at school, there will probably be a variety of fun events going on, such as team games and animations, which students rarely get to see. Some schools may hold gala concerts when students dance and sing together. On Children’s Day, the school transforms into a large party for pupils, in contrast to the typical school day where they must work hard! The state television station often holds ceremonies and galas for major holidays, and Children’s Day is no different. The large gala show just for children is broadcast across the country and is full of singing, dancing, bright colors, and fun cartoon characters to entertain kids
The day is also meant to bring awareness to the plight of children of children in crisis around the world, and send love and support to them. TBC has a long history of dedication and contribution to support of the development of underserved Chinese children.
Migrant Children’s Foundation, or MCF, is a Beijing-based non-profit that works with disadvantaged schools to provide kids with healthcare and educational support, among other things. TBC students volunteer with MCF to teach those children English, play games, and choose English names. It is not only a good opportunity for local children to learn and play, but also a valuable chance for TBC’s students to know more about the people of China.
Stephanie W. from Loyola University Chicago attended TBC in Spring 2017, and shared her story. “Not only will I develop my teaching skills for my future goals in education, but I will also explore both sides of a cause that I feel passionate about. The opportunity MCF has given me to understand an underserved community in Beijing will allow me to advocate for and learn from them in turn.”
In addition to MCF, TBC supports Five Loaves and Two Fish, an organization that supports migrant worker families. Every year, TBC organizes students to carry out service-learning activities around Thanksgiving Day. We go to schools, communities and organizations in need of help to do social work and give back to society. Click here to know more about how we continued this event in 2020 and 2021.
Children’s Day is meant for us to reflect on the joy that kids bring to the world. All around the world, children live in a variety of conditions. It is important to think about the way we interact with children on this day and create new ways to bring just as much joy into their lives as they bring into ours, whether or not we have kids of our own.
By Suemmer Luo, TBC Intern
Over this past weekend, some of our students enrolled at Minzu University of China took their annual Spring Outing – this year, to Gubei Water Town. Situated about a 2-hour drive northeast of Beijing, the April weather made it absolutely perfect to explore for a spring outing. It surrounds various canals and offshoots of Yuanyang lake.
If you ever want to get a taste of Old Beijing, by far one of the best ways is to visit the hutongs. They’ve conceptually been around all the way since the 1200s, and in their most modern forms exist as protected alleyways and streets surrounded by old traditional houses and neighborhoods in the heart of Beijing and are recognized in China to be an important part of cultural heritage in the city.