At the invitation of Kung Fu Schools Crawley, Confucius Institute for Traditional Chinese Medicine (CITCM) at London South Bank University took part in Dragon Boat Festival organised by St Catherine’s Hospice on 1st September, 2013. The CITCM Team prepared various colourful activities, including Dragon Craft (making a dragon boat and making a dragon crown), Chinese calligraphy, Chinese knot making, etc. These activities were so popular that they not only attracted many visitors but also raised money for charity.

Dragon Boat Festival is held atTilgate Park annually. This year, 30 companies registered for the Festival, and about 1,000 people participated in the day’s events. With careful planning and preparation, the CITCMstand offered exciting and colourful activities and was one of the most popular stands on site. At 10 o’clock when the Festival started, CITCM organised theme handicraft workshops to teach children to make paper dragon boats and dragon crowns. These were followed by calligraphy and Chinese knot making workshops. There were also shuttlecock kicking and balloon blowing games, which were popular among children. Calligraphy (learning to write with the writing brush) was the most popular activity which attracted people of all ages to queue in front of the stand. The youngest was a toddler of 2 to 3 years old; the oldest was over 80. A pregnant lady was delighted that she learned to write the Chinese name of her unborn baby with the brush. 

After the event, Paul Hawkes, the founder and chief instructor of Kung Fu Schools Crawley, expressed his gratitude to the CITCM Team and hoped that they would take part in the event next year. CITCM will further reach out to areas outside London to promote Chinese and Chinese culture to more people.