Learning

Unleash creativity at this vibrant workshop in Sanlitun! Young artists aged 6-10 will explore portraiture using Matisse-inspired bold, unexpected colors. All materials are provided for this hands-on session at 北京市朝阳区工人体育场东路乙二号二层201. A perfect weekend activity to develop artistic skills and colorful self-expression.

Wechat: Miss Eliza
More Info: Scan QR code on poster to book

This is a hands-on workshop for kids (ages 6-10) who want to paint! We will be looking at the amazing artwork of Matisse and then creating our own portraits using bold and surprising colors. Some aprons will be available, but we advise that you wear clothing that can get a little messy. All materials provided.

Event will be conducted in English.

150 rmb per kid if you book ahead! The cost at the door is 200rmb.

Scan the poster to add the instructor, Miss Eliza -- she can answer questions and get you registered!

ABOUT THE EVENT: Optimism—which always has a gaze to the future—is the favoured state of mind in both capitalist and socialist societies. As offspring of Enlightenment thinking, these cultures have always encouraged happiness and optimism in their citizens and a belief in progress. History showed a steady improvement, they came to believe, and things would continue in this direction indefinitely.

Thinkers in the West, including Émile Coué in France and Norman Vincent Peale in the United States, sought to overcome the heroic melancholy of 19th-century European culture. In China, the New Socialist Person carried the banner of optimism out of the Soviet Union and into the society of the 1930s, where the political and literary figures Zhou Yang and Hu Feng debated how this new person should appear in stories and novels. By the 1950s, revolutionary optimism had become the expected state of mind for those living in a socialist society. Finally, in the 1960s, young people raised the question of whether, as revolutionaries, they deserved to be happy. Prof. Larson compares fictional characters, some of whom model optimism and others who fight its coercive and hypocritical demands, in the decades following WWII.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER: Wendy Larson is Professor Emerita of East Asian Languages and Literature at the University of Oregon. Her research monographs include Global Good Cheer: Optimism in Socialism and Capitalism (Oxford UP 2025); Zhang Yimou: Globalization and the Subject of Culture (Cambria Press, 2017; forthcoming in Chinese); From Ah Q to Lei Feng: Freud and Revolutionary Spirit in 20th Century China (Stanford UP 2009); Women and Writing in Modern China (Stanford UP 1998); and Literary Authority and the Chinese Writer: Ambivalence and Autobiography (Duke UP 1991). In 2025, Larson worked on her new research project on Nobel Prize winning author Mo Yan at Heidelberg University.

ABOUT THE MODERATOR: Jeremiah Jenne is a writer and historian who was based in Beijing for over two decades. He taught Late Imperial and Modern Chinese History in Beijing for 17 years. Now in Geneva, Switzerland, he is the lead columnist for The Archive Picks section at the "China Books Review" and hosts the podcast, "Barbarians at the Gate".

Dulwich College Beijing is hosting an Open Day (北京德威开放日) for its Senior School (中学部), catering to students aged 11-18. Prospective families can explore the campus and learn about the curriculum. Scan the provided QR code to register for this educational event taking place on Saturday, January 24th.

More Info: Scan QR code in poster to register

High-Quality Small Group Teaching: 3-8 students per class, ensuring ample attention for each student!
Scientifically Structured Curriculum: Courses for all levels, from beginner to advanced, with professional textbooks and personalized tutoring!
"Language + Culture" Dual Experience: Chinese language classes combined with fun cultural courses!
Efficient Schedule: Monday to Friday, 9:00 AM - 12:10 PM, ideal for intensive short-term learning during the winter break!
Professional Teaching Team: Certified teachers of Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language, providing a fully immersive Chinese-language learning environment!
Start Date: January 19, 2026 (Classes from Monday to Friday)
Course Duration: 2 weeks, 10 class days
Class Size: Limited to 3-8 students per class
Suitable Levels: All levels (free level assessment provided before enrollment)

Tell：6253 7736/ 7737

Wechat：gvschinese01

MORE ABOUT THE EVENT: How much do you know about the wildlife that coexists with Beijing’s human residents? Since 2018, Dr. Shu-Jin Luo and her team at Peking University have studied the ecology of the wild leopard cat. RASBJ welcomes Professor Luo to share her discoveries regarding one of Beijing’s “big 10” wild mammals. She reveals the research behind an article in Science, “The Hidden Olympic Spectator,” a story that offers a window into the little-known wild side of the modern capital of China.

Twelve of 40 species of the cat family live in China -– tigers and leopards once roamed the Beijing region. Now, the leopard cat is the only wild cat proven to be living here still, placing Beijing among few G20 capitals to host wild felines today. Beijing is also home to two types of badger, two types of weasel, a masked palm civet,the raccoon dog, wild boar, Siberian roe deer and Chinese goral. Leopard cats in Beijing show strong ecological resilience, but threats to their survival include retaliatory killings linked to poultry predation, road deaths, and illegal hunting. Having lived alongside humans in China for at least 3,500 years, leopard cats remind us that Beijing’s residents still have ancient wild neighbours.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER: Dr. Shu-Jin Luo is a Professor at Peking University whose research focuses on the genomic diversity, evolution, and conservation of wild and domestic animals, with particular emphasis on the cat family (Felidae). She received her B.S. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from Peking University and her Ph.D. in Conservation Biology from the University of Minnesota, USA. After completing an NIH postdoctoral fellowship at the National Cancer Institute in Maryland, she returned to Peking University in 2009 to establish a research group applying molecular genomics to questions of mammalian evolution, adaptation, and systematics. Dr. Luo is the lead author of several landmark studies, including the identification of the Malayan tiger as a distinct subspecies (Panthera tigris jacksoni), the discovery of the genetic basis of white tigers, and reconstructions of the evolutionary histories of multiple felids, such as tigers, leopard cats, domestic cats in China, and the Chinese mountain cat.

ABOUT THE MODERATOR: Terry Townshend is a naturalist with wide-ranging interests and connections at all levels of China's environmental programmes and issues, including the study and conservation of wild cats. He's a longstanding RASBJ speaker, perhaps best known as the charismatic leader of RASBJ's two popular birding excursions each year, timed to coincide with the migrations in spring and autumn.

A hands-on culinary adventure for kids aged 6-12. Participants will master kitchen tools and chopping skills while preparing Hanoi and Bangkok flavors, including Spring Rolls, Pho, and Mango Sticky Rice. The day features cultural games, a spice map exploration, and a final dinner prepared by the kids for their parents.

More Info: Event hosted by Pak Pak, Fringe Space, and Susu

Future Word Masters!
Tim's Phonics Training Camp 《英语见词能读》训练营(Online/Offline) is recruiting

For Kindergarten, Primary & High School Students/ IELTS or TOEFL Students/Adult Students
Content: Tim's Phonics: Letter2Sound and Sound2Letter
Aim: Pronouncing by sighting, Spelling by listening.
Class Time: 15 hrs (Online/Offline)
Class Size: Small class
Lecturer: Tim Yao (M.E. in NLU: Natural Language Understanding)
Wechat: tim250250
ALso English Book Club & Library , free English Corner available.

Discover international education at the YCIS YWIES Open Day in Beijing Yizhuang (北京亦庄耀中耀华). The event features immersive bilingual trial classes, admissions insights, and face-to-face meetings with the academic leadership team. A free international-standard English subject test is also available for students in Grade 6 and above. 双语体验营.

Phone: 8783-6006
More Info: Scan QR code in poster to register