Special: Havana Confucius Institute Opens Its Doors to Community Children and Youth

The Havana Confucius Institute held an open house this Saturday for children and youth from the community, celebrating its 16th anniversary.

Teachers and students of the institution, which was inaugurated on November 30, 2009, organized various activities to mark the occasion.

The Cuban Director of the Institute, Jeisy Díaz, told Xinhua that it has become an "important" educational platform to bring Chinese culture and traditions closer to Cuba.

"For us, this type of activity is very important because we are cultural ambassadors of China in Cuba, and these open doors have a strong vocational orientation," Díaz stated.

She emphasized that the study of the Chinese language and culture is increasingly important for Cubans, due to the relations that have been forged not only on a political level but also because of the growing economic, commercial, and cultural exchanges between the two countries.

Díaz highlighted that this year the institution has played a "distinguished role" in celebrating the 65 years of diplomatic relations between China and Cuba.

A group of curious individuals, mostly teenagers interested in learning Mandarin, participated in an introductory language class, where they practiced the phonetics of some characters.

During the open house, Chinese and Cuban teachers enthusiastically shared knowledge on various subjects, often using games to shorten the distance between China and Cuba.

This was the case at a table dedicated to Chinese calligraphy, where participants could practice the characters learned in the introductory language class that opened the day's events, and even compete to see who could write the most characters in one minute.

One of the curious visitors was young Eduardo Rojas, who arrived early at the Institute, accompanied by his mother.

"What I like the most is its culture, its beautiful places, its way of writing, even though it's a bit difficult," Rojas told Xinhua.

The excited eight-year-old recounted that, although he doesn't know how to write very well yet, he has already mastered more than five characters, thanks to the private Chinese language classes he enrolled in a few months ago.

According to his mother, Gema Cué, her son has become very interested in Chinese culture, which is why she did not hesitate to bring him to the Confucius Institute as soon as she learned it would open its doors to the community that day.

A Cultural Journey Through Music and Games

Through music, the children and youth discovered songs from the Beijing Opera and even used masks inspired by those typically worn by artists of that company during their performances.

They also learned about Chinese provinces and regions through puzzles and identified the names of the main tourist and heritage sites of the Asian giant.

On a mural filled with photographs of the students and teachers who have worked and been trained at the Confucius Institute, those present wrote their best wishes for this Havana headquarters.

"I want to continue learning about this language; it's complicated, but at the same time very interesting," Marcel Curbelo, one of the institution's students, told Xinhua.

A Growing Interest in Chinese Language and Culture

The learning of the Chinese language, as well as an approach to its culture, has gained momentum on the Caribbean island in recent years through the work of the Institute, where approximately 1,200 people are currently enrolled in different levels of instruction.

About 14,000 people have passed through the classrooms of this center, located in the heart of Havana's Chinatown. Currently, Chinese and Cuban teachers provide classes in the university faculties of Foreign Languages, Tourism, and International Relations, where the Chinese language is an optional subject for students.