Pictures: First Chinese public school opens in Dubai

Chinese School Dubai (CSD), the first Chinese curriculum school offering K-12 education outside of China, has opened its doors in Dubai on Tuesday.

Sheikh Mansour bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairman of Dubai Sports Council, during an opening Ceremony of Chinese School Dubai in Dubai. “We welcome the opening of the first Chinese public school outside China in Dubai as a step that reflects the depth and strength of the ties of friendship and cooperation between the People’s Republic of China and the UAE,” said Sheikh Mansour after he unveiled the commemorative marker.

The school’ inauguration was simultaneously held and beamed live online from Hangzhou, the capital of China’s Zhejiang province, where school officials and teachers were directly recruited by the Hangzhou Education Bureau.

School principal Yin Liping said a pilot batch of around 200 students have enrolled for the first term. The school will initially offer classes up to Grade 5 and operate on a non-profit basis. “There has been a great demand among the Chinese community to have their own Chinese school,” noted Yin, adding: “It take us only six months to prepare the establishment of the school.”

Chinese Consul-General Li Xuhang said: "Chinese School Dubai will inherit the glorious tradition and advanced education concept of Hangzhou No. 2 High School, providing the children of overseas Chinese in Dubai with basic Chinese education of high-quality.”

Children perform during an opening Ceremony of Chinese School Dubai in Dubai.China and the UAE have had a close long-standing friendship, and there’s no better symbol for that friendship than a school.

Clinic at Chinese School Dubai in Dubai. Located in Mirdif’s residential area, the school boasts of having high tech facilities and abiding to strict health and safety protocols.

The school adheres to the principle of ‘All for the Students’ and strives to cultivate future qualified citizens with Chinese hearts, international vision and humanistic accomplishments to realise the mission of building a world-famous overseas Chinese school in basic education.

Located in Mirdif’s residential area, the school boasts of having high tech facilities and abiding to strict health and safety protocols. A giant screen and several temperature scanners were located right at the entrance of the main school building. Each person’s temperature is checked and a voice prompt will mention if it is normal or above average.

The mode of teaching was face to face. Each classroom only has 12 students; desks and chairs were at least two metres apart and everyone was wearing a face mask.

There are around 300,000 Chinese nationals living in Dubai. CSD is the first overseas Chinese school to get financial support from the Chinese government and the addition of CSD brings the number of curricula offered by Dubai’s private school sector to 18.

Located in Mirdif’s residential area, the school boasts of having high tech facilities and abiding to strict health and safety protocols.