Lin Jiajie, 10, and four of his cousins are among thousands of
children taking summer courses in the Shenzhen Children's Palace.
What sets them apart from most of the other kids is that they are
French-Chinese of Chaoshan origin, and they are in Shenzhen from
France for the summer to experience Chinese culture first-hand.
"China is a big and strong country now, and Chinese is an
essential language. So their parents send them back to China almost
every vacation," said Lin Fangqin, Lin Jiajie's aunt, who lives in
Shenzhen.
The five children, aged between 2 and 10, are taking courses
like Chinese, music and Chinese kung fu. Another cousin is now in
Beijing visiting scenic spots.
As China enjoys a higher status around the world, and learning
Chinese becomes more popular in Western countries, a growing number
of overseas Chinese have begun to send their children back to China
to experience Chinese culture from up close. They claim that
learning Chinese in China is better for the children and also cost
less.
Canadian-Chinese Zhu Xueyun said taking children to Chinese
schools in the United States for one year or teaching them Chinese
at home is not half as good as sending them to China for even one
month. "It is really hard to get them familiar with Chinese culture
in a Western country," she said. Her two daughters Emmy Ku, 7, and
Rachel Ku, 6, both born in Canada and raised in the United States,
were not being able to pick up Chinese characters.
"In the United States, two months' babysitting costs about
US$3,000. And the kids learn almost nothing. Whereas a return
ticket between the United States and China is about US$1,000. The
kids can go to best kindergartens or schools in China for a few
thousand yuan. And their involvement with Chinese culture is
tremendous," she said.
For this reason, when Zhu's husband got an opportunity to work
in Shenzhen for a few years, they took it immediately. She sent her
daughters to a painting course in the Children's Palace days after
they moved to Shenzhen in early July. They are also taking a
dancing course, a Chinese course and a skating course during the
summer.
Gao Junwen, chief of the children's training center with the
Shenzhen Children's Palace, said there has been an increase in the
number of overseas Chinese kids taking courses in the center. "Many
of them are among the most talented in the class. Coming from
different backgrounds, the kids are having a subtle but very
positive influence between each other," he said.
(Shenzhen Daily August 10, 2006)
