Students learn the typography of the Chinese characters in London, Britain, April 25, 2024. An event in celebration of Chinese Language Day of this year was held on Thursday in central London, during which six on-site workshops offered the students an opportunity to experience Chinese culture, such as typography of the Chinese characters, Kung Fu, and Chinese fan dance.(Xinhua/Li Ying)

Gazing down on spectators, with impressive noses and daunting staring eyes, bronze masks and figures displayed during a digital tour of Chinese artifacts have wowed British school students.

The virtual tour of China's Sanxingdui Museum was held on Thursday in central London during an event in celebration of Chinese Language Day of this year, which was attended by about 100 students from four schools.

Despite being dubbed as one of the world's greatest archaeological findings of the 20th century, the Sanxingdui Ruins, whose remnants date back 4,500 to 3,000 years, were unfamiliar to many students, including Devina Mistry from Queen Mary's High School.

Mistry told Xinhua that this was the first time she was introduced to Sanxingdui, and the bronze figure of a tiger left a strong impression on her. She has been learning Chinese for a year and events like this have always been entertaining and educational.

"Learning Mandarin has been much more than acquiring a new way to communicate," she said, adding that the experiences of learning the language gave her "an opportunity to connect with people" and enriched her "understanding and appreciation of a culture that is both ancient and vibrantly alive today."

Joan Deslandes, head teacher of Kingsford Community School, said that the next generation "will need to understand China's culture and be able to work in the Mandarin language" in today's global context.

"The fact that more and more schools are incorporating Mandarin into their curriculum reflects the recognition that has been made in how important this is," she added. Her school has been teaching Chinese since 2000.

During the event, six on-site workshops offered the students an opportunity to experience Chinese culture, such as typography of the Chinese characters, Kung Fu, and Chinese fan dance.

"All people-to-people exchanges are really important in education," Katharine Carruthers, director of IOE, UCL's Faculty of Education and Society's Confucius Institute for Schools, told Xinhua during the event.

She said that Chinese children learning English and British children learning Chinese will be the "bedrock" of the relationship between the two countries, and it's important for them to "find out they have a lot more in common than there are differences."