A unique summer camp is under way at Calgary’s Chinese Cultural Centre. A total of 150 participants ages six to 12 are enrolled in the 10-day cultural exchange, called the Chinese Culture Grand Garden Summer Program, which includes classes from teachers who travelled to Calgary from China’s Harbin Normal University. It’s the first visit to Canada for the 12 instructors, who teach calligraphy, music, paper cutting, dragon dance and martial arts. “This is all the first time for us to do it,” said Clara Tong, executive vice president and volunteer at the Chinese Cultural Centre. “This is a great program and also all the students - no need to pay anything, they are free [with just a $50 registration fee] from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. for the whole day camp.” Tong says the goal of the program is to introduce young people of Chinese heritage to various aspects of traditional Chinese culture. Zhang Lei is one of the visiting instructors. He’s teaching lacquer art and printing techniques. “The idea of how these art forms really passed on from the oldest time of the years, and now down to the point of 2026,” Lei said through an interpreter. Edward Cui is one of the students learning from Lei. “It’s like a traditional type of painting that has it has been in China for years, like a long time,” he said. “Chinese culture has been around for thousands of years,” he added. “That’s because you learn here and you can keep your culture alive and for another thousand years.” Yen Yu says the summer camp is a way to keep her 11-year-old daughter off electronic devices and instead get her to learn more about her culture. “I think it’s good for her to learn more Chinese-related stuff and get more interested,” she said. ”And she is also interested in going back to China to visit sometime.” The program runs until Aug. 6. For more information, you can visit the Chinese Cultural Centre’s website.
