On 17 September 2014, as part of a series of events to celebrate the Confucius Institutes’ Tenth Anniversary, the Confucius Institute for Business London, CIBL, and Finchley College successfully held a China Day. Over one hundred Finchley teachers and students joined the event. CIBL UK director, Nick Byrne, gave a talk on the importance of understanding Chinese language and Chinese culture and its relevance to global communication. Finchley teachers and students were enthusiastic about the Chinese taster class and the range of traditional Chinese culture activities specifically designed for them by CIBL staff. Within a short period of time, they were given a wonderful introduction to Chinese language, architecture, painting, calligraphy, technology and other aspects of Chinese culture.
Based on the positive response to the event, a Finchley college official said that there is a current trend amongst many British students to learn about the new China and that this event was a good means of giving the students a taste of China. Teachers at Finchley have seen the students’ great interest in oriental culture, and they hope that the cooperation between CIBL and Finchley could be further enhanced so as to offer more opportunities for their students to experience Chinese culture and get a better understanding of China and the world. This event has led directly to CIBL Chinese classes being introduced at Christs’ College Finchley with the first class to begin there on 23 September.