Four schools from Beijing were in Hull to put on a show.

The schools, all from the Fengtai District in Beijing, have close ties to the city. Groups of students from Beijing and Hull regularly visit each other as part of a cultural and educational exchange programme.

Today’s special performance at Hull City Hall included various forms of traditional Chinese music, dance and acrobatics (杂技).

Lewis Anderson, 26, started learning Chinese at the age of 13 and acts as a translator and organiser when the Chinese students visit the UK. He also currently studies at a university in China.

He said, “Cultural exchanges are really important because children start to appreciate everything in life. They start to learn that there isn’t only their view on things and they start to look at other cultures and appreciate their history and beauty. For example, when Hull students visit China, they might visit the Great Wall and enjoy traditional dancing and opera, and then they come home and think ‘What do we have that is the equivalent (相等的东西) of that?’ and they look at all the different things that we have and it starts to open their minds.”

The Chinese students are on a 12-day visit to the UK, visiting eight different cities, including four days in Hull. As part of their visit to Hull, they were invited to visit various museums, galleries and tourist sites in the city.

Lewis said, “The children love exploring Hull because it’s rich in history and everywhere you look it’s old, beautiful and attractive.”

At Hull City Hall the Chinese students performed a traditional Peking Opera, which combines music, vocal performance, dance and acrobatics. The performance is famous for featuring fantastic costumes and dazzling make-up.

By drawing patterns on the surface of a cup of tea, chabaixi (茶百戏), an ancient Chinese tea trick displayed in a recent TV drama, has gone viral for its apparent similarity with modern coffee art. However, ten years ago, this distinctive technique was close to disappearing. Zhang Zhifeng, a practician of chabaixi, found scenes of chabaixi in the drama aroused great interest among ordinary people.

Chabaixi can create endless patterns such as bamboos and mountains or even calligraphy. There are over a dozen steps, from grinding (碾碎) tea for fine powder, to pouring boiled water, stirring the mixture for thick froth, and finally drawing the patterns. It is different from making latte because people use clear water as the object to put into the cup instead of milk. But when the water touches the surface of whipped tea, it turns into a white color and disappears in 20 minutes. The process before the drawing is known as the tea-making technique, diancha. The quality of diancha is crucial to whether patterns can be successfully produced later.

“Chabaixi is one of the countless forms of tea-making techniques in China. The importance of chabaixi is pot only that this technique is unique in the world, but also it gives us a window into people’s lifestyle in the Song Dynasty, a period of time when leisure activities in some ways resemble what we have now,” Zhang said.

Before chabaixi was discovered by TV audiences, the technique was listed as part of China’s Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2017, after it was recovered by Zhang Zhifeng. He started researching the origins of chabaixi in the 1980s and brought the technique back in 2009 after decades of trials end practice. Zhang spent nearly 30 years studying and researching the origins and making of tea, but for him it was all worthwhile.

“This technique is key to the tea culture of the Song Dynasty, and it would be a shame to let it fade. This technique must be passed on to the next generations so they can understand its history,” Zhang said.

In China, foods are given particular meanings, so that a type of food can only be eaten by some specific individuals in certain occasion, or must be eaten in specific occasion.

Usually, an honored guest will be served a snapper’s head or shell to greet him and show warm welcome in some districts.

Noodles are the symbol of longevity in Chinese culture. They are as much a part of Chinese birthday celebration as a birthday cake with lit candles is in many countries, so that youngsters or seniors all will have a bowl of Long Life Noodle in the expectation of a healthy life. Since noodles do symbolize long life, it is considered very unlucky to cut up a strand.

Eggs hold a special symbolic significance in many cultures, and China is no exception. The Chinese believe eggs symbolize fertility. After a baby is born, parents may hold a “red egg and ginger party”, where they serve round hard-boiled eggs to announce the birth. (In Central China, the number of eggs presented depends on the sex of the child: An even number, usually six or eight Red Boiled Eggs with a black point dotted on one end will be delivered for a boy and an odd number, usually five or seven without black point for a girl). Egg rolls or spring rolls resemble the shape of a gold bar, and thus are often served on the New Year as a symbol of wealth and prosperity in the coming year.

Fish also play a large role in festive celebrations. The Chinese word for fish “Yu” sounds like the homophonic words both for wish and abundance. As a result, on New Year’s Eve it is customary to serve a fish for dinner, symbolizing the wish for accumulations of prosperity and wealth in the coming year. In addition, the fish is served whole, with head and tail attached, symbolizing a good beginning and ending for the coming year.

Ducks represent fidelity in Chinese culture. If you are ever invited to a Chinese wedding banquet, don’t be surprised to spot a mouthwatering platter of Peking duck on the banquet table. Also, red dishes are featured at weddings as red is the color of happiness. (You may find them served at New Year’s banquets for the same reason.)

Chicken forms part of the symbolism of the dragon and phoenix in Chinese culture. At a Chinese wedding, chicken’s feet, referred to as phoenix feet, are often served with dragon foods such as lobster. Chicken is also popular at Chinese New Year, symbolizing a good marriage and the coming together of families, and serving the bird whole emphasizes family unity.

Seeds - lotus seeds, watermelon seeds, etc - represent bearing many children in Chinese culture. Visit an Asian bakery during the Chinese New Year, and you’re likely to find a wide assortment of snacks with different types of seeds in them.

There are other foods, snacks and fruits which symbolize good wishes under special circumstances. (498 words)