UWC Chinese Cultural Evening 2017 will be shown live throughout the world at 7:00 PM,GMT8, Monday, January 23rd.

The Chinese Cultural Evening, also known as CCE, is the most important Chinese cultural event at UWC Changshu China. In 2016, the first CCE turned out to be a huge success, and was warmly welcomed by the audience within and out of the School. Thriving in UWC’s multicultural environment, CCE is dedicated to inheriting and sharing with the world Chinese culture while celebrating the Chinese Lunar New Year. With the Year of the Rooster approaching, the curtain of CCE 2017 will be lifted at 7:00 P.M., Monday, January 23rd and for the first time, it will be shown live throughout the world. Please keep tuned for the announcement of the online live stream link on 21st January.

Friends, parents and alumni will be able to watch the event live online from all over the world, and learn more about our talented and energetic student body, and our extraordinary School that provided us with such wonderful platforms and opportunities.

This is Yuchen Dai, DP1 student at UWC Changshu and the Chairwoman of the Organising Committee of CCE 2017. With nearly three months of intense preparation, the cultural event will feature several other highlights:

An Event by the Students, but for All to Enjoy

Assisted by Ms. Li Ping, Vice Principal of Chinese Programme, the student Organizing Committee has taken the lead to prepare a series of wonderful programs and interesting activities. With encouragement and strong support from the School, we have come up with fresh and innovative ideas to make CCE 2017 an even more enjoyable and memorable time for everyone.

Youth leadership is one of the three cornerstones of UWC Changshu. During the preparation, the Organizing Committee -- which consists solely of students -- led all the work from promotion, program selection, costume purchasing and souvenir design and selling. In this process, our project management abilities were improved, and our leadership skills sharpened.

A Glimpse of Co-curricular Activities at UWC

“Learning the Chinese language and culture” is another one of UWC’s cornerstones to which many of our Zhixing activities are related. A good example of this is Mandarin Tutor, a Zhixing activity that teaches Chinese to our international community. As per UWC Changshu's tradition, we held an annual Chinese speech competition for international students two weeks ago, and some of the contestants will be showing off their Chinese skill at CCE.

International students will also perform Chinese traditional musical instruments, Tai Chi, Dragon Dance and Lion Dance, and demonstrate calligraphy. The awesome diversity of UWC’s Chinese culture related co-curricular activities and their achievements will be presented during the celebration.

Annual Chinese speech competition for international students

A Celebration of the International Family of UWC

CCE was made possible with the united efforts by our multicultural community from over a hundred different countries and regions. During the event, all members of UWC family shall have the opportunity to fully immerse themselves in the marvels of Chinese culture. Some will be showing their talents by joining the fascinating traditional Chinese performances, some will be decorating the school with festive ornaments, while some will simply enjoy the new year feast, in a perfectly harmonious atmosphere that defines life at UWC. Wherever they may come from, whatever accent they may carry, all around campus we will be exchanging wishes for the New Year, “Ji Nian Ji Xiang!”

Being in charge of the CCE 2017, I often recall what Ms. Li Ping once said to us, “Only what is national can truly be international.” Organizing such an event in the multicultural environment at UWC certainly gave me a very unique perspective. Chinese culture isn’t just ours -- it belongs to the entire world, to the entire humanity.

A while ago, China Central Television (CCTV) aired a commercial with the message, “Chinese New Year -- the festival that connects the world.” With that in mind, as we celebrate the festival, let us also celebrate our diversity, and just like we carry forward our cultural traditions, let us carry forward the tradition of this incredible cultural event, for many, many years to come.