PAASSC Students Meet Chinese Consul General During Arts Festival Kickoff

On Friday, September 7, PAASSC students Daria Belle, Kiah Smith, and Sanaa Smith got a chance to meet Chinese Consul General Wang Donghua and his wife, Liu Bin, during the official kickoff of the “Across the Pacific: China Arts Festival” in San Francisco. Now in its 5th year, this six-week festival is held across the Pacific Northwest, in the Bay Area, Sacramento, and Portland, Ore., as well as in Las Vegas, Nev.

Daria Belle, who is in the 7th grade at Yu Ming Charter School in Oakland, was even quoted by Xinhuanet, an online affiliate of China’s state news agency. “I have been learning Chinese for eight years,” she told the reporter. “I love the fantastic Chinese food and like to listen to Chinese music.” She and her sister, Zoe, presented the Consul General and his wife with artwork on behalf of Yu Ming.

In addition to Daria and the Smith girls, the kickoff was attended by Eric Peterson, principal of West County Mandarin School in Richmond, Calif.; PAASSC board member (and Daria’s dad) Randolph Belle and his younger daughter, Zoe; and PAASSC founder Jamila Nightingale, who is also Kiah and Sanaa’s mom.

According to the Xinhuanet.com article, “The festival is part of the China-U.S. cultural communication and exchange projects sponsored by the Chinese Ministry of Culture and Tourism.”

If you want to learn more about the festival events, read this article on China Daily.  The San Francisco Public Library also includes information about an exhibit and films it is hosting in conjunction with the festival on page 5 of its September 2018 newsletter.