Chongqing - The Chongqing No.1 Secondary School Drama Troupe has recently emerged as the champion in the third "Sino-Foreign Cultural Exchange Little Ambassadors - Recitation Category." 

As a reward for their outstanding performance, they have been awarded round-trip tickets to the UK and invited to participate in the Edinburgh International Festival.

The Chongqing No.1 Secondary School Drama Troupe is invited to participate in the Edinburgh International Festival. Photo/Chongqing No.1 Secondary School)

The Edinburgh International Festival, held annually in August in the historic city of Edinburgh, Scotland, traces its roots back to 1947. It is renowned as the world's longest-running and most significant arts festival. The festival showcases top talents and promising newcomers from various fields, such as music, dance, and theater. t is widely recognized as one of the world's most vibrant and innovative arts festivals, celebrating diverse artistic forms, including music, drama, dance, and visual arts. 

The Sino-foreign Humanities Exchange Center of the Ministry of Education advocates bringing the world to China and sharing China with the world to promote mutual understanding. Each Chongqing No.1 Secondary School Drama Troupe member embodies this mission as they serve as ambassadors of cultural exchange between China and the world.

In their performances during the exchange, the drama troupe ingeniously combined Chinese classical poetry, "Man Jiang Hong," with English recitation, creating an original recitation piece titled "Awakening Era." This fusion beautifully showcased the elegance of the Chinese language while embodying the harmonious integration of Chinese and Western cultures. 

The Chongqing No.1 Secondary School Drama Troupe performs their recitation piece titled "Awakening Era." (Photo/Chongqing No.1 Secondary School)

The young talents' performance in "Awakening Era" garnered acclaim from a diverse audience. A teacher from Guangzhou Xin'gang Elementary School expressed her surprise and said that she never thought recitation could be so captivating.

One Danish old man said, "It is an amazing show! Thanks to those students from Chongqing No.1 Secondary School. Your show inspires and strengthens my idea of learning Chinese, such a beautiful language."

During their exchange journey, the Chongqing No.1 Secondary School Drama Troupe followed in the footsteps of the Chinese Ambassador to the United Kingdom, Zheng Zeguang, visiting King's Park School in Glasgow for educational exchanges. They collaborated with British students on exploring AI and taught them the intricacies of the Chinese language. Headmaster McCann praised the students for their exceptional performance.

The troupe also had the privilege of visiting the Celtic Football Club at the venue of the Scottish Premier League. Here, they met with Chinese women's soccer players Shen Mengyu and Shen Menglu, who shared inspiring stories of sportsmanship. Additionally, they toured the Confucius Institute to gain insight into the overseas dissemination of Chinese culture.

The Chongqing No.1 Secondary School Drama Troupe takes a group photo at the Stockbridge Church. (Photo/Chongqing No.1 Secondary School)

The students of Chongqing No.1 Secondary School are dedicated to being torchbearers of Chinese civilization and cultural exchange ambassadors. They are committed to introducing the Chinese culture abroad to present an accurate, multi-dimensional, and panoramic view of China.