Long after Chinese President Xi Jinping‘s two-day visit – ending this morning – is over, hundreds of local students will continue learning about China’s language and culture in local schools. The Confucius Institute is involved in much of that local education, and its Washington branch co-sponsored a spectacular slate of art demonstrations and performances at Chief Sealth International High School last night – coincidental to the president’s presence in our area, as far as we know. The artists and performers were all from Seattle’s sister city Chongqing, in western China; above, a demonstration of sugar painting; below, our video of the Chongqing Song and Dance Troupe performing “Girls Playing Water”:

That was just the first of eleven planned song, dance, and acrobatic performances. The art demonstrations outside the Sealth auditorium preceded the show; they included crafting with shredded bamboo:

Fans and scrolls are some of what’s made from the bamboo filaments:

Before returning home, the Chongqing artists and performers will appear in San Francisco on Saturday.