More than 60 overseas Chinese children gathered in Beijing Wednesday to attend a special summer camp that will help them learn standard Chinese language and Chinese culture.
They came from the United States, Canada, Germany, Britain, the Netherlands and Japan to attend the activity, which is sponsored by the Overseas Edition of the "People's Daily".
"It is the second time for us to participate in summer camp," said ten-year-old Angle Wang, who came to Beijing with her father and seven-year-old brother.
"Both my brother and I enjoy studying Chinese here in the summer camp, " said the girl. She was born in Beijing and went to live with her parents in Canada when she was three years old. As a result of regular practice, she can speak fluent Chinese.
"To provide opportunities for overseas children to learn two languages and different cultures will help them become more competitive in the age of global economic integration," said Angle 's father Wang Yaohui, who wrote a book to describe his struggles to success in different cultural backgrounds.
One of the organizers of the activity said that overseas Chinese families are very concerned with the Chinese education of their children. More than 90 percent of overseas Chinese children understand Chinese, but some can only speak and cannot write Chinese. The summer camp will help them learn more about Chinese language and culture.
During the coming ten days, children who have attended the summer camp will take Chinese lessons, take part in parties with local children, and visit the Great Wall, the Summer Palace and other places in Beijing and Chengde, a summer resort city in Hebei Province.
(People’s Daily)
