VIDEO: MTSU Hosts Picnic for Chinese Delegation as Part of Weeklong Cultural Exchange

Middle Tennessee State University hosted a picnic Tuesday for a delegation of schoolchildren, teachers and administrators from China’s Dongcheng Educational Group.

The group’s visit this week is the sixth cultural exchange in a series of reciprocal visits between the institutions.

MTSU President Sidney A. McPhee and first lady Elizabeth McPhee hosted the picnic Tuesday morning for the guests on the lawn of the President’s Residence, aided by cheerleaders from MTSU and Murfreesboro’s Blackman High School.

The visiting Chinese delegation, which includes more than 30 elementary/middle school age students, was treated to games of corn hole, volleyball, airplane toss, a drone demonstration, face painting and other activities.

Dongcheng is an affiliate of Hangzhou Normal University, MTSU’s partner in the creation and operation of the Confucius Institute on the MTSU campus. Dongcheng oversees a network of magnet-style schools in Hangzhou, China.

This visit will be the third time MTSU has hosted the Dongcheng delegation, who also visited before in 2013 and 2015. Students, parents and teachers from Rutherford-area schools were hosted by Dongcheng in China in 2012, 2014 and 2016.

Mrs. McPhee, aided by local teachers and parents who have travelled with MTSU to China on previous trips, will conduct joint classes for Chinese and American students and host a workshop for Chinese teachers. The visitors will be paired with local families who participated in last year’s exchange trip to China.

The visitors is also touring facilities on the MTSU campus, seeing cultural sites in Nashville and participating in classroom activities at Overall Creek Elementary School in Murfreesboro. Also, they will be treated to performances by students from Murfreesboro’s Reeves-Rogers and Bradley Academy schools and visit the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama.

The delegation arrived early Monday morning and will depart Friday.