The two-day Beijing Foreign Language Festival, held at the Working People’s Cultural Palace on the east side of Tian’anmen Tower, drew 40,000 visitors last weeken
Foreign students from a dozen middle and primary schools came to play instruments and sing and dance at the opening ceremony of the festival. Almost 30 students from Beanstalk International Bilingual School unveiled a 30-meter-long painting at the ceremony.
“I painted three hands in different colors on the canvas to show how people from all over the world come together in Beijing,” said Ieva Dimsaite, 11, a Lithuanian girl who has livedn the city for five years.
Danielle McCraine, an American mother, said she was proud of her 7-year-old daughter Laura’s Peking Opera performance at the ceremony. “This is her second time to participate in the festival, d her performance was great. Her Chinese is standard and fluent,” she said. “My school has participated in the festival for seven years including this one,” said Mike Weeks, the principal of the school. “The fesal not only gives people in town a chance to practice their foreign languages, but also gives our kids a chance to show their bilingual skills and strengthen their confidence.” The festival also opened a foreign language-talent recruitment zone to facilitate the talents to consult some overseas-funded enterprises, foreign language training schools and volunteer and service organizations about their manpower requirements.
