On Jan. 24, 66 Chinese students visited Marlborough as a part of a cultural exchange program.

The students were in grades 7 to 11 and were part of an art troupe from the high school affiliated with Renmin University of China (RDFZ), one of China’s top five high schools. They were chaperoned by 10 teachers and the Consul General of the Chinese Consulate Guo Shaochun. The students hosted a performance for the Marlborough community during Flex, which included a dance, aerobics, martial arts, a string quartet and more.

To begin the Flex performance, Shaochun gave a speech to acknowledge the opportunity offered by the exchange program.

“[Our students] look forward to learning about the best schools in Los Angeles and communicating with the feature leaders of this country and to better understand each other,” Shaochun said.

Head of Upper School Regina Rosi Mitchell also gave a speech, accompanied by Chinese translations by Linda ’26, thanking the representatives of the Chinese Consul and the students from RDFZ and officially welcoming them to Marlborough. After the speeches concluded, the Art Troupe’s performance began.

Their performance began with the Martial Arts Team, Aerobics Team and Boys’ Dance Troupe’s hip-hop performance of “Lion Dance Youth,” followed by the Dance Troupe’s “Ode to the Snow,” the String Quartet’s performance of “Mayila,” the Martial Arts Team’s “The Duel” and ended with all members of the Arts Troupe performing in the Grand Finale.

“Their performances were absolutely phenomenal and so beautiful [to watch],” Linda said.

At lunch, the RDFZ students met with their Marlborough partners and attended their B period classes, including World Languages Instructor Fei Li’s Chinese I class. During the period, students were given the opportunity to talk with their partners and get to know one another. They exchanged stories of their own school and life experiences, noting many of the similarities and differences between schools in the U.S. and in China.

“We go to school at around five in the morning for [a] self-study period and leave around nine in the evening,” said one RDFZ student.

One of the students said Marlborough students are “very relaxed” compared to students at his own school.

Just before they left campus, the students took pictures and exchanged gifts with their Marlborough contacts.

“I had a lot of fun giving these students a tour of Marlborough and getting to know them,” Linda said. “Everyone was super nice, easy to talk to. I enjoyed this experience a lot!”