At the Chinese Language School Stuttgart in Germany, Chen Xiangyuan, a Chinese language teacher, played a Chinese art short video titled Bamboo Clappers Resound with Rhythm for her students. In the video, a young African man, holding bamboo clappers, delivered a witty and melodious performance.

Chen played for her students an episode from the “Show Your Chinese Talents” video series produced by the Liaoning International Communication Center (LICC). “The series of short videos showcases how young people studying in China’s Liaoning Province embrace, learn, and promote traditional Chinese arts. Through immersive experiences for international students, these exquisitely-made videos reflect the spiritual strength behind traditional Chinese culture, and can help the world gain a better understanding of China,” Chen said.

Captivated by the scenes and storyline of the video, the German students focused their eyes on the screen. Watching a kuaiban (a form of Chinese storytelling accompanied by bamboo clappers) performance for the first time, these students have sparked an interest in traditional Chinese culture, and are eager to see and touch the “magical” bamboo clappers firsthand. Many of them expressed their desire to learn a traditional Chinese art after watching this video.

“This African student has learned so well and performed so well. He was even able to perform such a brilliant kuaiban performance with such a high level of difficulty.” Julia from the University of Applied Sciences Constance has loved Chinese culture since childhood. After watching the video, she felt she wanted to know more. “I hope to study in China one day, not only to learn the Chinese language, but also to master a traditional Chinese art.”

Aurelia, a student from Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg in Germany, has never been to China, but is very fond of Chinese culture. “I found this video very interesting, and I was amazed at the Chinese proficiency and performance mastery of this African student,” she said excitedly.