ATHENS, June 23 (Xinhua) -- The school of the Chinese community in Athens celebrated its 15th anniversary with a special event held in the center of the Greek capital on Saturday evening.
In the fully-packed 1890 theater of Literary Society Parnassos, one of the oldest cultural clubs of Athens, students, parents, teachers and Greek friends enjoyed music and dance performance after strolling through an exhibition of paintings and calligraphy works the children worked on during this academic year.
Currently the school has 300 students aged 4-16 years. Six days per week it offers Chinese and English language lessons, kung fu classes, calligraphy and painting workshops, and above all a strong link to China.
The Chinese school of Athens celebrates 15 years of nurturing children's love for learning and living with values to contribute to the development of Greece and China, officials and teachers said.
"Looking back we know where we come from, looking to the future we know where to go, especially in this year when we celebrate the 70th anniversary of the People's Republic of China, that we are here to look back and look forward means a lot," Wang Qiang, political counselor of the Chinese Embassy in Greece, said when addressing the event.
"I hope the students here will continue to study hard, learn about the tradition of patriotism and China's traditional culture, learn from the outstanding achievements of other civilizations, to become international talents and help to promote the China-Greece friendship," he added.
