Teaching calligraphy, sharing her personal experiences and crooning to Chinese folk songs alongside students summed up the visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s wife Peng liyuan at the Tagore International School on Thursday morning. In a 45-minute-long session, the First lady of China interacted with students about how their hard work would help the country grow and said that she admired Indian women for their strength.
Peng paid a visit to the school in South Delhi at 11 am on Thursday. During her visit, the 51-year-old China First lady, who is also a renowned singer, enlightened students on the intricacies of calligraphy while giving them a peep into her personal experiences. “I started learning calligraphy when I was young and as little as five years old. I was instructed by my father who taught me the most intricate details,” Peng said.
One of the main messages of China’s First lady to students was, “Keep working hard so you can contribute to your country.” Peng also spoke highly of the yoga lessons being imparted to the students.
Principal of the school said that Peng was all praises for Indian women. “She told me that she had a lot of respect for Indian women. They are beautiful, hard-working and can keep the family together, is what she said,” elaborated Madhulika Sen.
Students were floored by Peng’s openness and willingness to interact. According to Pihu Bharadwaj, a student, the fact that the First lady joined the students while singing a popular Chinese folk song made them feel good. “While we were singing, she joined us and started humming. Apparently, the song is very popular back in China,” said Bharadwaj.
Around 75 students from Classes VIII to XII were present during the interaction. Peng left a handwritten message for students with her stamp on it. She said, “It is my genuine wish that our dear students should keep learning and working hard so you can contribute to your country. It is important to lay a solid foundation in terms of knowledge base since one is young.” The First lady also gave the schools gifts that included some Chinese story books.
The school presented Peng her portrait done by Class XI student Aradhika Chakraborty. The 16-year-old girl was overjoyed to meet the Chinese First lady. “She is so pretty,” said Chakraborty referring to Peng, who is known to be style icon in China. The other students too gushed over the visiting First lady, including 11-year-old Prabhjot Singh who could not stop smiling after getting a peck on the cheek from her. “I gave three interviews because of the peck on the cheek,” the kid told his principal, blushing. “So do not wash your cheek,” the principal said in a lighter vein.
Senior students were happy with the friendly behaviour of Peng and felt it was a start to healthy relations between the two countries. “The interaction which the First lady had with us has left a very good impression on us. Both nations should work together and have cordial relations,” said Prateek Arora (17), a Class XII student.