Source: People's Daily Overseas Edition
The picture shows the Spring Festival in 2020, Huang Ping took a photo at the entrance of the Prime Minister's Office in London, England. (Courtesy of the interviewee)
Huang Ping, president of the British Zhejiang Friendship Association, has been living abroad for 31 years. From New York in the United States to London in the United Kingdom, she has never stopped doing one thing - telling Chinese stories and spreading Chinese culture. From the initial introduction of traditional Chinese festival culture in her children's school to the establishment of an overseas Chinese group to show the charm of Chinese culture to more people, Huang Ping's stage is getting bigger and bigger, and her footsteps have always been firm.
Here's what she has to say.
Bring Chinese culture to campus
In 2005, because my husband was sent to the UK, our family moved from New York to London. At that time, my youngest son was in the first grade of primary school and was attending an international school in London, surrounded by classmates from all over the world. Usually, teachers often introduce the traditional festivals of various countries in class.
One year, near the Spring Festival, the teacher invited me to the school to introduce Chinese Spring Festival culture, and asked me to bring some traditional Chinese foods such as dumplings and spring rolls for the children to taste. I readily agreed. During my time in the United States, I paid great attention to exposing my children to Chinese culture from an early age. When my eldest daughter was in elementary school in the United States, every time there were traditional Chinese festivals such as the Spring Festival and the Mid-Autumn Festival, I would prepare dumplings, mooncakes and other foods for her to take with her classmates to share.
That time, in order to let the children understand the Spring Festival more comprehensively, I not only wrapped dumplings and spring rolls, but also let my younger son wear Tang costumes. In the classroom, I explained the origin and customs of the Spring Festival to the children, and prepared red envelopes for everyone according to the Chinese New Year customs. The younger son and his classmates were particularly happy.
After that, almost every year on the eve of the Spring Festival, I would go to my son's school to introduce and show the colorful Spring Festival culture. I also invited friends from the local overseas Chinese group to the school to perform lion dances, martial arts and other programs, which were very popular with teachers, students and parents.
Gradually, I realized that it was very important and necessary to introduce China to foreign friends. Remember when my youngest son first entered school, there were almost no students from Chinese mainland in the international schools he attended, and teachers and parents had a very limited understanding of China, and even thought that China was still very backward. I feel my responsibility to let them know about a real China.
To this end, I have initiated various activities, such as holding photographic exhibitions showing Chinese customs and customs in schools, organizing parents to watch Chinese movies together, going to Chinatown to taste Chinese food, and reading Chinese literature. In these activities, everyone showed a strong interest in China, and I was happy to answer all kinds of questions about China. After a photography exhibition, many teachers and students said to me: "China is so beautiful, I really want to go to China to take a walk!" At that moment, I deeply felt how meaningful what I was doing was.
Show the charm of China on the new "stage"
In 2009, Li Xuelin, a fellow Zhejiang compatriot in the United Kingdom, proposed to me to set up a fraternity association to connect Zhejiang compatriots in the United Kingdom and make more contributions to my hometown and ancestral country. The two of us hit it off. With the encouragement of the Chinese Embassy in the UK and the overseas Chinese from Zhejiang, we actively prepared and established the British Zhejiang Friendship Association in that year. Since then, I have begun to promote China's development and spread Chinese culture to more people on a broader platform.
Every year, the Fraternity organizes a number of large-scale activities, such as the "Sino-British Golden Age Chinese New Year Dinner" held in the British Parliament, and the Zhejiang (London) Talent and Project Exchange Conference for several consecutive years. As the first overseas Chinese community, we also participated in the London Financial City Governor Parade for 3 consecutive years. It is a local tradition that has lasted for more than 800 years. We carefully make floats, prepare costumes and organize performances, hoping to show the British people the charm and style of China.
From 2019 onwards, every Spring Festival, we have a new "stage" - the New Year Reception of the British Prime Minister's Office. As the main Chinese person in charge, I participated in the decoration of the Chinese New Year at the Prime Minister's Office at 10 Downing Street. On January 31, 2019, at the entrance of the Prime Minister's Office, peach blossoms bloomed, the Spring Festival was hung high, the lion dance performance was lively and noisy, the British Prime Minister and the Chinese Ambassador to the United Kingdom jointly lit the eyes on the lion, and Chinese teachers and students also made New Year greeting cards, hung red lanterns and cut window flowers at the Prime Minister's Office. The Prime Minister's Office is full of strong New Year atmosphere inside and outside, attracting many media to report.
With the experience of the first year, during the Spring Festival in 2020, we are more confident to participate in the preparation of the New Year Reception of the Prime Minister's Office again. I purchased a lot of exquisite Chinese New Year ornaments in advance. At 9 o'clock in the morning of the event, I and other overseas Chinese came to the Prime Minister's Office, and in addition to posting the Spring Festival, I also placed two pots of orange trees at the door. The golden oranges contain the beautiful meaning of great luck and fortune, and also pin our hope that China-UK relations will bear golden fruits.
Thankfully, our efforts have received an echo. Over the past year or so, due to the impact of the new crown pneumonia epidemic, we have not been able to hold large-scale events, but British friends often take the initiative to mention to me the cultural activities they have participated in before, and said that they love traditional Chinese culture.
The "cloud" gathering conveys warmth and confidence
The sudden outbreak of the epidemic has made a huge difference in people's lives, but the cultural communication work I love has not stopped.
In the early days of the outbreak, my colleagues and I mainly helped local overseas Chinese and Chinese students to solve their living difficulties such as shortage of epidemic prevention materials. But soon, I found that there was another problem that plagued many overseas Chinese and international students — inner depression and anxiety. Because of the long-term "home" family life and away from relatives, many people have psychological problems that are light or heavy. How to give more comfort and love to our compatriots? I decided to do what I could.
On December 20, 2020, a special gathering was held in the "clouds". Erhu solos, tai chi performances, poetry recitations, folk dances... Hundreds of overseas Chinese from all over the UK "gathered" together, some showing their skills, some recounting homesickness. Everyone accompanied each other in the air and gave each other warmth to spend the winter. At that time, the rebound of the epidemic in the United Kingdom was grim. This Christmas and New Year "Cloud" gathering, called "Love and Hope", brings a festive and joyful atmosphere to the compatriots and encourages everyone to have confidence in the new year.
I was particularly touched to hear that we were going to organize this event, and the government departments and artists at all levels in China, especially in my hometown of Zhejiang, were particularly supportive, recording greetings or performance videos to send blessings to overseas compatriots.
Although there are fewer offline gatherings, these "cloud" cultural activities can still closely link overseas Chinese and relatives in the motherland, and our hearts are closer.
Many local friends in the UK also encouraged us to organize more cultural activities after the epidemic situation eased to promote cultural exchanges between China and the UK. This gives me a lot of motivation.
Of course, the biggest driving force comes from the earth-shaking changes in the motherland. I have lived overseas for 31 years. When I first went abroad, China was still relatively backward. Today, China has become the world's second largest economy, attracting more and more overseas Chinese to return to China for development. I know that this has not come easily, and I am even more proud of it. I want more people to see that China is not only developing rapidly, but also has a deep cultural heritage. As an overseas Chinese, I am willing to be a storyteller of Chinese stories all the time.