Center of Chinese culture experience opens in Chicago

A Center of Chinese Culture Experience, a multimedia teaching system, opened Wednesday at the Confucius Institute at the Walter Payton College Prep in north Chicago.

The center would present Chinese history, culture, geography, origin of Chinese characters, music, folk arts, martial arts and calligraphy, according to cultural officials of China's Consulate General in Chicago.

At the opening ceremony, which was attended by Consul General Yang Guoqiang, two Chinese-language teachers displayed how to use the multimedia system.

One of them double-clicked "Chinese paper cutting" with an electronic pen. After the image of paper cutting appeared on the screen, a few strokes finished the image of a rabbit.

The most interesting thing may be the "evolution of Chinese characters." When one of the teachers double-clicked "horse," the image of a horse galloped on the screen, while different ancient types of the character "horse" appeared on the screen.

Yang Jingyue, principal of the Confucius Institute, said this is a very interesting "toy" and students can learn Chinese culture and understand its long history in recreational activities.

China's Consulate General also donated 200 Chinese books, audio and video publications to the Confucius Institute.