A group of 26 students and teachers from Frankfurt am Main, Germany, visited Liuhua Lake Park in Guangzhou on October 17, where they experienced the intricate beauty of Lingnan-style bonsai, a traditional form of southern Chinese horticultural art.
Students trimming their own bonsai.
Guangzhou and Frankfurt am Main established friendly relations in 1988 and have since maintained close ties. Over the years, Zhixin High School in Guangzhou and Anna-Schmidt-Schule in Frankfurt have organized 20 rounds of educational and cultural exchanges varying from choir and dance performances to teacher-student visits and joint classes. This visit is part of the 21st exchange between the two schools.
Under the guidance of a Lingnan bonsai tutor, the German guests learned to prune and shape miniature trees, exploring the philosophy and craftsmanship behind the Chinese idea of "a world in a pot." When the tutor invited students to observe the demonstration up close, 15-year-old Clara Weber eagerly stepped forward for a closer look.
"In Germany, people also prune plants in their gardens, but it's very different from bonsai," Clara said. "We don't usually think of a single plant as a work to be created."
Clara (on the left) and her friend with their bonsai.
For teacher Milica Bovan, the Guangzhou trip was an inspiring cultural experience. "This is an amazing opportunity to see a completely different culture," she said. "What I especially like is how you integrate your ancient culture into everyday classes, so that students can not only focus on modern things but also keep nourishing what your culture has given."
The group also toured the Frankfurt Garden in the park, a Baroque-style garden built in 1996 as a gift from Frankfurt to Guangzhou in celebration of the city's 2,210th anniversary. A statue of Goethe, echoing the one in front of Frankfurt's city hall, stands in the garden as a lasting symbol connecting the two cities.
The exchange group in the Frankfurt Garden.
This latest exchange was jointly organized by the Guangzhou Municipal Education Bureau, the Foreign Affairs Office of the Guangzhou Municipal People's Government, and the Guangzhou Municipal Forestry and Landscaping Bureau.
Reporter | Chen Siyuan
Photo | Guangzhou Municipal Education Bureau
Editor | Hu Nan, James Campion, Shen He
