Pupils celebrate Children’s Day with calligraphy performance

A primary school featuring traditional Chinese calligraphy celebrated the upcoming annual International Children’s Day with a one-month long cultural festival in Dongcheng district in Beijing.

School boys and girls in traditional Chinese clothes recited classic poets, played traditional Chinese instruments and presented their calligraphy works on Thursday at a festive performance on the playground in Tiantan Dongli Primary School.

Home to around 400 students, the school now gives a 20-minute long pen calligraphy lesson every school day besides special brush calligraphy lessons after calligraphy became a feature of the school in 1992.

We believe calligraphy lessons give our students not only good handwriting, but also a good character for their future development, said Ms Fan, a teacher of the school.

Chinese President Xi Jinping celebrated the International Children's Day with 1,600 children from across the country at Beijing Children's Palace on Wednesday, vowing that the country will guard against and crack down on any words and deeds that harm children.

Xi also told the children to respect and honor hard work, and talked with them about other issues such as environmental protection.

Students recite Chinese classic poets at a festive performance on the playground in Tiantan Dongli Primary School in Dongcheng district in Beijing on May 30. Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn