In the beginning of this month, 2 Feb to 5 Feb, a group of Chinese student from Hangzhou in South China came to visit Aalborg for 4 days. The Confucius Institute collaborated with Gug Skole and the Chinese Academy of Sciences arranged a short exchange program for them. Each Chinese student was assigned a homestay family from Gug Skole. The Chinese students then followed their homestay buddy to experience the Danish learning environment and lifestyle.


In school, both Danish and Chinese students experience different cultural encounters during different activities. Chinese students shared their Chinese traditional paper cutting and painting skills with Danish students Table-football matches: China vs. Denmark


On the 4th Feb, the CI organized a dinner gathering for all the Chinese students with their homestay families at Jincun Restaurant in Aalborg. Around 120 people participated.While eating Chinese food the Chinese students shared their chopstick technique with their host family


Throughout this exchange program, we received a lot of positive feedbacks from both the Chinese students as well as the Danish families. During the Chinese students’ visit, naturally communicative misunderstandings arose. But these misunderstandings made everyone even more aware of the importance of intercultural understanding. From this successful experience, we look forward for future similar collaboration and exchange program between Chinese and Danish schools.

Last Friday the last round of Chinese New Year celebration event was held at CI’s Learning Centre.

There were more than 100 people came and enjoyed Chinese snacks, tea ceremony, Tai Chi, Calligraphy and music performance.Our Tai Chi master Youjin and Wang Li demonstrate the technique of Tai Chi.Tea ceremony for participates to taste the Chinese tea.Project manager Thorsten got interviewed by the TV2 News report team.CI staff Mengxi playing Traditional Chinese instrument – Guzhen.


This event is also being reported in TV2 News: Click here to experience the event in motion.

We wish you all the best for the year of Dragon!

Here is a selection of pictures that were taken at our New Year event last Friday. High school students from Støvring Gymnasium paid a visit to our event and wanted to learn a little more about China.

If you also would like to experience the Chinese New Year celebration with us, come and join us this coming Friday 27th January at our learning center located on Boulevarden 13 (Main entrance of the Mayor’s office).Taichi-instructors Xiaoshan and Youjin warming up on Boulevarden

Bao Rui gave a little workshop on Chinese New Year Calligraphy



Fengyuan gave a little concert with her Piba performance

To celebrate the Chinese New Year, Confucius Institute held an open house event at CI’s learning center on Boulevard 13 last Friday from kl. 12 – 18.

There were about 100 guests came and experienced various activities including Chinese Taichi, calligraphy and tea ceremony. Journalist from Nordjyske covered the event and an article was also published in the newspaper on Saturday 21 January.

For further information, you can click here to see a news story on 24Nordjylland.

The event will be repeated on Friday 27 January from 12. – 18. Everyone is welcome and remember to bring your friends and family. Here is our event poster:

From 21st to 25th in November, a lot of things related to China were happening in Sofiendalskolen for there was a big event called China Week. After the principal of Sofiendalskolen Meret paid a visit to Beijing, she decided the subject of their International week this year as China.

In this China week, students in each grade from pre-school to 10th grade were highly involved in the activities about China. Students in 8th grade prepared Chinese food: China Box, and students in 5th grade painted a huge China dragon with their names on the wall. Classrooms were well decorated with all kinds of Chinese accessories like lamps, kites and masks, etc. They also held a show with various Chinese performances, like traditional Chinese dancing, Kongfu, dragon dancing and Taijing, etc.

All the students said “Ni Hao” enthusiastically to our reporters from Confucius Institute. Many of them were curious about China and asked lots of question. A girl from 8th grade named Jotte told us that she likes China Week very much, and their classmates had fun in this week after whatching Chinese films and had done a lot of Chinese crafts. Teachers and parents were also excited about their first China week and showed a lot of interest.

All these activities in this China Week proved to be a great success and laid a solid basis for Chinese language and culture education in the near future.Students with traditional Chinese decorations made by themselves
Students performing China dragon dancingA girl highly concentrated on drawing a dragon
Classrooms were decorated with Chinese characters and national flags etc.Typical traditional Chinese performance: diabolo.

On November 23th, several students and teachers from Vestbjerg skole paid a visit to CI’s Learning Center for Chinese Language and Culture. Those students were highly involved in different cultural experience activities during the visit.

CI's staffs gave them an introduction about the background of the learning centre and some exhibited Chinese elements, like painting, civil craft etc. They also experienced Chinese tea ceremony and enjoyed a live performance of Chinese classical instrument, Guzheng, which all of them were impressed by the unique sound of Guzheng.

Writing Chinese calligraphy was the most exciting part for those students. They were very much interested in Chinese characters and practiced some Chinese characters like”丹麦人”(Danish) and“中国人”(Chinese).Live performance of Chinese classical instrument, Guzheng

On 16th November, 2011, over 30 students from Sofiendalskolen visited CI’s Learning Center for Chinese Language and Culture.

Teachers from Confucius Institute introduced Chinese culture in related to the terracotta warriors, porcelain, classical paintings and other Chinese cultural items. Apart from that, students experienced Chinese tea ceremony, traditional music and Chinese calligraphy, which gave them a better understanding of Chinese culture.

Both teachers and students showed their great interests in Chinese culture and actively involved in the cultural activities.

Learning Center for Chinese Language and Culture has been open for primary and middle schools and the public of Denmark since 5th April, 2011. Up to now, over hundreds of visitors have experienced diverse Chinese culture in this Learning Center.A student managed to turn over the tea cup which means “good luck” in Chinese tea ceremonyCI's staff Mengxi Tian played Chinese traditional musical instrument GuzhenStudents with their Chinese calligraphy

In the beginning of October 2011 the famous Chinese painter Qin Bailan paid a visit to Aalborg. During her three day stay in Northern Denmark she visited Gug Skole in Aalborg and the Department of Asian Studies at Aarhus University. She also had an informal talk with the renowned painter Esben Hanefelt, the artist behind the Confucius Institute's signature painting.

Qin Bailan is famous for her classical paintings of Chinese beauties and has since the 1990's held exhibitions in more than 50 countries world wide. Besides being a well known artist, she also is a member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, an advisory body to the Chinese Government.

At Gug Skole Qin Bailan the schools two international 7th grade classes attended her lecture. The children had started a course on Chinese language and culture, taught by CI teachers Ruan Youjin and Bao Rui, two days earlier and where thus keen on learning more about Chinese culture. After giving a brief introduction to Her art, Qin showed the children how to paint Chinese style paintings themselves and she also painted portraits of two lucky pupils.

A day later Qin gave a lecture to first-year students of Chinese studies at Aarhus University, where she gave an more in-depth introduction to her great variety of Chinese classical paintings.A painting of Wang Zhaojun, one of the four ancient beauties of ChinaQin Bailan together with students from Gug SkoleQin Bailan gives a lecture at Aarhus University

On September 15th the Confucius Institute at Aalborg University celebrated its two years anniversary at the Old City Hall in Aalborg.

Amongst the guests where Rector of Aalborg Univeristy (AAU) Finn Kjærsdam, University Director of AAU Peter Plenge, members of the CI board, Rector off Støvring Gymnasium Jens Nielsen, members of the delegation to China, colleagues from AAU and a delegation from Guandong University of Technology.

The CI Aalborg was happy to share anniversary together with so many friends and partners. During the last year the CI has had huge success with making teaching of Chinese language and culture accessible at Danish primary and secondary schools. In the autumn semester of 2011 the CI arranges Chinese classes at nearly 10 different schools in Northern Denmark. Furthermore, Chinese classes are also taught at Aalborg Handelsskole and Aalborg University.

The CI also works building a bridge between Danish and Chinese schools. The delegation trip to China with schools leaders from Northern Denmark is a proof hereof. More news on the trip will be published on this website in late October.

During the anniversary dinner Finn Kjærsdam, Rector of AAU, held a talk on how the work of the CI has benefited the cooperation between AAU and China.Finn Kjærsdam, Rector of AAU

For October 2011 the Confucius Institute Aalborg arranges a delegation visit of Danish school leaders from Northern Denmark and leaders from the municipality of Aalborg to Beijing. The aim of the delegation trip is to give the participants an opportunity to learn about the Chinese school system and get contacts to potential partner schools in China.

In order to prepare the school leaders for this important trip, the CI called for an information meeting held at the Learning Center in the City Hall of Aalborg. At the meeting staff members from the CI gave a brief introduction to the itinerary of the trip and what the participants could expect on their visit in China.

For the Confucius Institute of Aalborg it is very important to facilitate cultural exchange between Denmark and China.Ph.d. fellow Ulla Egidiussen Egekvist gives an introdution to CI activities