Shenzhen and Edinburgh Become Sister Cities
The Event is Marked with a Children’s Art Trip
On 14th May 2019, Chen Rugui, the Mayor of China’s southern city of Shenzhen, and Lord Provost Frank Ross, the Mayor of Edinburgh, met in Shenzhen to sign an agreement to establish both cities as sister cities. The relations between Shenzhen and Edinburgh have formally upgraded from cities sharing friendly exchanges to sister cities. The friendship between the two cities has opened a new chapter of better communication and cooperation.
To celebrate the event a cultural exchange series called "Shenzhen & Edinburgh Children's Art Journey" was held in Edinburgh. 36 graduating students from the Royal Kindergarten Education Center (RKEC) attended the Edinburgh International Children's Festival. The creative performances given by the children attracted praise from local audiences.
Children from the Shenzhen Royal Kindergarten Education Center performing 'Melody of the Ocean' at the Edinburgh International Children's Festival
Shenzhen was the birthplace of the economic reforms and opening up of today’s China, it is also the fastest-growing city in China. Huawei, Tencent, Dajiang and numerous other high-tech enterprises were all founded in this city. Over the course of 40 years of development, 20 million people have continuously realized their dreams in Shenzhen. RKEC, which has been established for 12 years, has always been known for its focus on children's drama education. According to the founder Wong Mei Yi, it is the only kindergarten in China that uses children's drama education as a school-based curriculum, promoting children's self-awareness, cooperation and rationality through drama courses, as well as the development of mental skills, enhanced creativity and better imagination. RKEC has been rated as a first-class kindergarten in Guangdong Province and an excellent model kindergarten in Shenzhen. It was awarded the International Drama Education Conference in 2016 and became the only designated teaching practice base in Shenzhen for the IDEC. Together with the conference, it will crystalize the international advanced drama education concept and introduce such teaching models to China.
Children from the Shenzhen Royal Kindergarten Education Center performing 'Melody of the Ocean' at the Edinburgh International Children's Festival
To mark the occasion of the solidified friendship between Shenzhen and Edinburgh, the highlight of the cultural exchange was the children's drama performance, "The Melody of the Ocean", which is based on the theme of marine environmental protection and presented by extremely muscular limbs. The drama presents the struggle of marine life in the face of a deteriorating ecological environment and encourages people to pay more attention to marine environmental protection. A member of the audience, Raymond, said that he had visited Shenzhen for work reasons and was impressed by the green environment there. This time, after watching the children's drama performances of RKEC, he realized that environmental education in Shenzhen is given priority in the early stages of learning.
During the event, the children also visited famous kindergartens in the local area and were introduced to the famous tourist sites of Shenzhen such as the Window of the World and Happy Valley, and presented with traditional Chinese art such as Peking Opera masks made by the children themselves, as a way to connect the people of both cities.
This event is the first folk cultural exchange since Shenzhen and Edinburgh become sister cities.
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