Anne Campbell (2nd L) sings songs with other Canadian children and a teacher from Yang Mythos while playing games with local children at the Children s Palace in Futian District on Thursday.
A group of 22 children from Canada arrived in Shenzhen on Thursday, to take part in an art exchange to learn painting with local children.
Aged between 11 and 12, the children are all from Winnipeg, the capital and largest city in Manitoba. It was the first time they had been to China, said Wang Mingtao, organizer and president of the Yang Mythos Education Group.
The students would live with Chinese families and take painting classes, visit art galleries and attend exhibitions over four days. They would learn Chinese painting from professional painters, Wang said.
It was the first time Yang Mythos, one of the city s biggest art education companies, had invited foreign children to Shenzhen to learn painting and it could become an annual event, introducing Chinese art to younger generations in other countries.
It was not common for Western children to come to Shenzhen to learn painting. This means our culture has become more popular around the world and more people are becoming interested in our culture and art, Wang said.
The children spent four days in Hong Kong before arriving in Shenzhen. During their stay, they will visit Shenzhen Museum, historic sites, scenic spots and Dafen Oil Painting Village in Longgang District. Their work will be featured in an exhibition at the Children s Palace in Futian District. They will leave Shenzhen on Tuesday.
I am so excited about the trip and curious about everything I see. It s quite a different experience and I am enjoying every minute of it, said Anne Campbell, 11, a member of the group. I can t wait to live with a local family. In Canada, we live in houses and have large open spaces and I m really excited about living in an apartment with Chinese families. I m sure I will make very good friends with my new Chinese friend, she said.
(By Wang Yuanyuan)
