Author: SACU Admin

Dreams of England

For my Grade 12 students in Beijing, this has been the worst and the best few weeks of their young lives. These were the weeks that they received their final A Level grades, the ones that will determine whether they get their university places or not. The good news I can report is that all of them were successful and that for 90% of them this means that their long cherished dreams of studying in the UK are about to come true. The challenges for my students in achieving this academic dream should not be underestimated. This is not an […]

Introducing Dianne Francombe, OBE .

In the Chair’s Blog this week I present an interview with Dianne Francombe, OBE. Dianne is Chief Executive Officer of the Bristol and West of England, China Bureau, an organisation set up to build business and cultural partnerships. She was awarded an OBE in 2020 in recognition of her dedicated service to improving UK-China relations. Please talk to us about your motivations for working for an organisation building partnerships with China?  Do you have your own personal experiences of China? I first visited Hong Kong in 1987 and was fascinated by this country which was so different to anywhere I […]

Qīxījié – Chinese Valentine’s Day

Cultural travellers in China will know that the seventh day of the seventh month according to the Chinese lunar calendar is Qīxī Festival which literally means the festival of the Evening of Sevens but is increasingly translated as ‘Chinese Valentine’s Day’. This year that means 10th August. So good news for romantics – in China you get two opportunities to write that special poem that will win you undying love. And good news for florists who get to sell twice as many red, red roses. Underneath the commercial opportunities are there any meaningful links between the two events and the […]

Harmony – A Photo-Essay

In recent Chair’s Blogs I have been delighted to share with you Award winning entries for this year’s Annual Essay Writing competition, presented in partnership with Peking University. This week I’m very happy to share with you a creative response to the topic of Harmony. One of the strengths of this competition for me is the way in which we encourage and support young people to express responses to the assignment in a variety of media. Desmond Zee, who was awarded joint first prize with Olivia Philips in the 16+ category, submitted a fascinating series of photographs. Note: Desmond opens […]

The Sound of Nature

In this Blog I’m privileged to be able to bring you a report on the Gala Concert presented by the UK Chinese Music organisation on the evening of Friday 26th July at the Holy Sepulchre in London’s Holborn. In Chinese there is an expression 沁人心脾 qìnrénxīnpí, which in English we can translate as stirring the heart and the soul. Each performer throughout the concert really flowed through her or his instrument to express the profoundest emotions and transcend any narrow ideas of ‘west’ or ‘east’. For me the music evoked a natural world, a world without borders where people and […]

Olivia Philips, Highgate School ~ ‘On Harmony’

In this week’s Blog I am proud to present the award winning essay of Olivia Philips. Here is her self- introduction: My name is Olivia, I’m 17 years old, and I go to Highgate School in North London. I recently moved to London after living in Hong Kong for 13 years, and now study Mandarin, History, Politics and Biology for my A-levels, and I am hoping to study Chinese and Politics at university. My hobbies include baking, playing netball and reading, in which after I started learning about politics for A Level, have become more and more interested in international […]

Ella-Mae Cox, Marlborough College

Ella Mae’s self-introduction: I am deeply grateful to have received the second-place winner of the SACU essay competition. This recognition means a great deal to me, as I have always been profoundly interested in the link between Chinese and Western cultures. Having spent ten years of my life in Malaysia, I was immersed in a rich cultural diversity that enhanced my curiosity and appreciation for different traditions and perspectives. From a young age, I have been fascinated by the Chinese language and its cultural significance. It has provided me with a deeper understanding of China’s profound history, vibrant culture, and […]

What are some important differences and similarities between the Chinese and British economies?

Shenzehn in south China shows the current emphasis on ‘harmony’ in Chinese economic thinking What are some important differences and similarities between the Chinese and British economies? This is a question that has been raised by some of our SACU members. I must make it clear from the start of this article that I am not an economics expert. What I’ll do in this blog is to share some of my understandings and open a space for others to share theirs. To write this blog as always I’ll draw on my own first-hand experiences in China. However I will also […]

SACU / Peking University Essay Prize winners 2024

SACU is dedicated to supporting each new generation of bridge builders between the people of China and the people of Britain. One of our most important expressions of this commitment is our annual essay competition which offers young people in both China and Britain the opportunity to research themes of mutual interest to both countries. In 2024 the given topic was both challenging and very rewarding: “How do you see harmony in the cultural context of China and/or the UK?” As Headmaster of a Chinese International School in Beijing, I found this topic to be inspirational. I was able to […]

Come with me to Nánjīng and Wúxī

One of the benefits of working for a Chinese International Education company as I do is that compared to an ex-pat job for a British, American or Australian school in China, I get to access a lot more of China for direct experience of the country, the culture and the people. It’s true that I’m not paid the same salary as principals at some of the large western owned international schools in China, but personally speaking the opportunity for ‘close encounters with China’, more than makes up for this. The most recent of these school trips, we call them ‘study […]