A group of 25 students and teachers from Frankfurt am Main, Germany, visited Zhixin High School in Guangzhou on October 20, where they immersed themselves in Chinese martial arts and competed in a robotics challenge alongside local students.
Founded by Sun Yat-sen in 1921, Zhixin High School is one of China's most prestigious schools, known for its academic excellence and long-standing international exchange programs. The visit from the German delegation is part of this ongoing tradition of global collaboration.
As one of the day's highlights, Zhixin's PE teacher Ji Li led the visitors in a traditional martial arts class.
The lesson included horse stance and stake training, the fist salute, the first three forms of the Twelve-Form Tai Chi, and basic qinna (grappling) techniques—guiding students to experience the deeper philosophy behind martial arts through practice.
"The moves are complicated and sometimes hard to follow, but it's still very fun," said Alex, one of the German students, who was deeply impressed by Chinese martial arts. "We'll try to do it in our class when we get home and teach it to our friends."
"I think Kung Fu is not for fighting; it's for protecting yourself and defending others," Alex added, reflecting the students' growing understanding of the cultural significance behind the practice.
After exploring traditional Chinese culture, the group turned their attention to the future.
In the afternoon, they joined a VEX Robotics workshop. Local students demonstrated how to use a controller to operate entry-level VEX robots, after which the two sides teamed up for an interactive robotics competition.
"It's a really exciting experience and a chance to try something different," said Louisa, another German student.
Guangzhou and Frankfurt am Main established friendship-city relations in 1988 and have maintained close ties ever since. Over the years, Zhixin High School and Frankfurt's Anna-Schmidt-Schule have held 20 rounds of educational and cultural exchanges—from choir and dance performances to reciprocal visits and joint lessons—building a lasting bridge of friendship between the two cities.