On June 4th, advanced-level international students from Class 2 of the Chinese Language Program at College of International Education set out to explore Shanghai’s history. This activity aimed to complement their coursework by visiting exhibition 700 Years of Shanghai County at Minhang Museum to gain a deeper understanding of Shanghai’s development in commerce, industry, transportation, and more.
Guided by the timeline, the students explored every themed exhibition area in sequence. They paused to gaze, engaged in quiet discussions, took photos to commemorate the experience, and read the descriptions of the exhibits to learn the stories behind them. From Qin Yubo to Huang Daopo, from the land of sand ships to the modern transportation hub, and from the old Shanghai streetscape to the transformation of the modern metropolis, the students felt as though they had traveled through a time tunnel, experiencing the profound heritage and evolving legacy of Shanghai’s culture. Later, they would then apply their language skills to articulate how to innovate and repurpose the vintage objects.
This hands-on activity not only gave the students a more intuitive understanding of Shanghai’s past, but also exercised their language expression and teamwork abilities.
