A total of 695 overseas Chinese teenagers from the Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand, and the United States on May 29 joined the “Embrace China·Tell You Stories” online summer camp, where they enjoyed the magic charm of Chinese puppet art and learned how to make puppet heads.

With the help of Xu Fang, a teacher from the China Museum for Fujian-Taiwan Kinship, students successfully made their own puppet heads with tools and materials including scissors, wide straws and colored clay, and showed them on the screen.

The opening ceremony of the fourth “Embrace China·Tell You Stories” online summer camp Quanzhou hosted by All-China Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese was held online on May 29.

“The devastating pandemic greatly affects the study and life of overseas Chinese teenagers, but it cannot stop their love for Chinese culture and their pursuit of returning to the place where their ancestry lived for ‘root seeking’,” said Wen Jinhui, president of Quanzhou Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese, adding that since 2020, the Quanzhou Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese has launched several online summer and winter camps, which have generated enthusiasm among overseas Chinese teenagers, good interaction and positive learning.

“As the new generation of overseas Chinese teenagers, we hope we can improve ourselves, make breakthroughs and keep learning to have a good command of Chinese and pass down valuable traditional culture,” said Xu Yiru, a camper from the Philippines.

Zheng Jingxiang, a parent representative, hoped that the new generation can further their understanding of Chinese customs and southern Fujian culture through the online summer camp.

The summer camp offers to a large number of participants cultural courses and online live classes, with a wide range from arts and crafts courses to interesting lectures. Campers are going to have a cross-camp party on Children’s Day and online-themed activities on Dragon Boat Festival, such as making zongziand folding paper dragon boats. There will also be quizzes about traditional culture across camps, regions and time zones.

Moreover, the online summer camp has made great changes in teaching models and the curriculum. Considering the difference of campers’ age and their command of Chinese, each online course has two classes -- one for teenagers and one for younger children -- with differentiated teaching methods to provide a great and special cultural feast for overseas Chinese teenagers.