ArticleOpen Access http://dx.doi.org/10.26855/jhass.2025.11.008
Bridging Cultural Roots and Global Citizenship: Integrating Fujian Traditional Culture at Fuzhou Lakeside International School
Dongyu Chi
Fuzhou Lakeside International School, Fuzhou 350001, Fujian, China.
*Corresponding author: Dongyu Chi
Published: December 08, 2025
Abstract
This paper presents a qualitative case study examining how Fuzhou Lakeside International School (FLIS) addresses the growing demand from its community of Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan, overseas Chinese, and expatriate families for meaningful Chinese cultural education. Moving beyond the superficial “food and festivals” model, the school has implemented a structured, experiential learning program deeply embedded in the local Fujian cultural heritage. Grounded in the theoretical frameworks of experiential learning and cultural identity development for Third Culture Kids, the program integrates distinctive local traditions—such as the Savory Yuanxiao, Southern Fujian Dragon Boat activities, Mid-Autumn Festival “Bó Bǐng,” and the “Lào Jǐu” Congee ceremony—into its core educational and community activities. The study details the program’s “Demand-Response-Reflection” design philosophy and its practical implementation across four flagship activities. Findings, derived from participatory observation and stakeholder feedback, indicate significant outcomes in enhancing cross-cultural understanding, strengthening community cohesion, and fostering a nuanced sense of cultural identity among students. The paper also critically addresses challenges such as avoiding cultural superficiality and ensuring inclusive participation, proposing adaptive strategies. It concludes by presenting a replicable, four-stage model for other international schools, positioning them as crucial agents in bridging cultural heritage with global citizenship education in an increasingly interconnected world.
Keyword
Fujian Culture; International School; Cultural Identity; Experiential Learning; Third Culture Kids
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Copyright
© 2025 by the author(s).
This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives (CC BY-NC-ND) license, which permits non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited and is not modified or adapted.
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
How to cite this paper
Bridging Cultural Roots and Global Citizenship: Integrating Fujian Traditional Culture at Fuzhou Lakeside International School
How to cite this paper: Dongyu Chi. (2025) Bridging Cultural Roots and Global Citizenship: Integrating Fujian Traditional Culture at Fuzhou Lakeside International School. Journal of Humanities, Arts and Social Science, 9(11), 2127-2131.
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.26855/jhass.2025.11.008