Hosted by the Chinese Language Education and Assessment Centre (CLEAC) at Lingnan University, financed by the Lingnan Education Organization (LEO), and led by Dr Zhou Bo, Senior Lecturer, and Mr Jiang Xinyu, Assistant Lecturer of CLEAC, Lingnan University’s "Exploring Chinese Charisma—Chinese Language and Culture Study Group" toured Shandong from 7 to 15 June, 2025. This programme is part of the LingArt Heritage series, which combines classical recitation, cultural heritage visits, Confucian sanctuary studies, and Chinese writing in its liberal arts education philosophy, building a platform to increase cooperation between universities.
Meticulous Planning: A Needs-Based Curriculum Design
It took six months of preparation for Dr Zhou, Mr Jiang, and the College of International Education at Shandong University to design this nine-day itinerary based on the Chinese learning needs of Lingnan students. Shandong University devised language and culture courses based on traditional Chinese culture, using AI to construct writing frameworks and collect historical data, in order to improve students’ proficiency in Chinese and their cultural literacy.
An In-Depth Experience: Cultural Inheritance in Motion
Teachers and students took part in immersive activities on Shandong University’s digital campus, in their multimedia classrooms, and at the Traditional Culture Research and Experience Centre. Off-campus, they toured cultural sites such as Jinan, Qufu, and Tai’an, where they held classical recitations, explored literary landmarks, and studied at Confucian sanctuaries. This enabled them to better understand the philosophy of "harmony between man and nature" and strengthened their sense of cultural identity and the responsibility of their inheritance.
Strategic Cooperation: Catalysing Inter-University Exchanges
Dr Zhou, representing CLEAC, discussed cooperation on cultural education, sharing academic resources, and cultivating innovative talent with authorities from the College of International Education and the Institute of Advanced Educational Studies at Shandong University. The whole tour was guided by Prof Li Donghui, Associate Vice-President (Experiential Learning Projects) and Head of CLEAC at Lingnan University, and constitutes an important step towards long-term collaboration between the two liberal arts universities.
Summary and Awards: The Course and Future Plans
The Chinese writing course on the study tour was remarkably successful, and stimulated students’ interest and skill in Chinese writing. The best students, as assessed by their instructors, were awarded training certificates recognising their excellent performances and a Best Creative Writing Award in the closing ceremony, and the pieces written on the exchange will be made into an e-book, with pictures taken during the trip, showing what they learnt. This tour provided Lingnan students with an important programme to enhance their writing skills, and has developed cultural interaction between the two universities, and paved the way for greater cooperation between Lingnan University and Mainland institutions.
