In the run-up to Chinese New Year, producers and reporters from Chinese Central Television came to William and Mary to report on New Year’s festivities celebrated by WM students. The students displayed their impressive language skills, practiced calligraphy, wore traditional Chinese outfits, and even sang in Chinese!
The reports were aired on the news program “Morning News” (Zhaowen tianxia) on CCTV 13 and a special New Year’s variety program “New Year’s Eve Countdown” (Chun wan dao ji shi) on CCTV 3. Featured in these reports are students Rob Weed and Linda Baysore singing a famous Teresa Teng tune, Sara Rock giving a tour of the Wren Chapel (in Chinese!), other students engaged in calligraphy and other traditional activities, and wishing TV viewers in China (up to one billion people) a Happy New Year.
The reporters noted the impressive fluency of our students, as well as commented on the historic significance of WM as the second oldest college in the country. The clip for the “New Year’s Countdown” also included well wishes from Judy Chu, a Congresswoman from California, and members of the Chinese embassy stationed in the US.
Click the following links to watch the report: