The delegation of Changchun of the People's Republic of China visited Lyceum No. 1 as part of an official visit.

In 2024, Krasnoyarsk and Changchun will celebrate the 10th anniversary of the signing of the Agreement on the establishment of sister city relations between the cities. In addition, this year marks 75 years since the foundation of diplomatic relations between Russia and China. In order to strengthen this mutually beneficial cooperation, an initiative has emerged to organize direct interaction between language-centered schools of the two cities – the Lyceum No.1 and the Changchun Foreign Languages School.

— Our cities have been regularly cooperating for 10 years. This is a significant period of time that confirmed our intentions are truly earnest. We see prospects for development and are making efforts to ensure that our friendship moves to a new level. We are glad that the People's Government of Changchun supported the idea of twinning the two schools. I can say with confidence that the Russian side is ready to expand and deepen cooperation, – said Deputy Head of Mayor's Department - Head of the International Affairs Division Inna Dozortseva.

The choice was not made by chance, because Lyceum No. 1 has implemented a system of multilingual education. The system is aimed at deeper immersion of students in the study of foreign languages and introducing them to other cultures. At the Lyceum, the languages are taught by both Russian teachers and native speakers. The Lyceum now has five such student groups. In classes, children not only master the intricacies of English and Chinese, but also deeply immerse themselves in the culture of the countries of the languages they study.

The educational institution closely cooperates with the International Affairs Division of the Krasnoyarsk City Administration, the local Chinese commune, the scientific and educational centre of Chinese language and culture "Confucius Institute", and participates in citywide events, such as the summer city project "Lively Riverbanks".

— Children are the main wealth that we, adults, have. And our task is to create facilities for children to see the world more openly. Cooperation between the two schools will allow the children of Krasnoyarsk and the children of Changchun to expand their understanding of each other, and will allow teachers to share their pedagogical experiences, – said Deputy Head of the Main Department of Education Marina Chernyshkova. 

The delegation of the People's Government of Changchun was greeted by the Lyceum students themselves. The children prepared a choreography with a Chinese dragon prop, performed several children's Chinese songs, demonstrated their drawings about China, crafted their own "Dragon" masks and much more.

After the educational excursion, the delegation, together with the representatives from the Russian side, sat down at the negotiating table to discuss further plans to expand cooperation and confirm their intentions to sign an agreement between the schools as part of cooperation in the educational field.

— Changchun attaches great importance to the development of basic education and is currently actively implementing the demands of the Changchun Party Committee and the Changchun People's Government, prioritizing development of education and accelerating the pace of transforming Changchun from a major educational centre into the strongest platform in Jilin Province. The city of Changchun values cooperation with Russia, specifically with Krasnoyarsk. We hope for a long and fruitful interaction between the two cities and countries, – said Mr. Liu Renyuan, Deputy Head of the Secretariat of the People's Government of Changchun.

Changchun Foreign Language School is considered one of the most famous and prestigious schools in the province. In 2001, the Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China designated Changchun Foreign Language School as one of thirteen foreign language schools in the country eligible to recommend outstanding graduates to colleges and universities.

Over the past years, Lyceum No. 1 and the Changchun Foreign Language School have actively laid the foundation for fruitful bilateral cooperation, participating in joint projects such as the International Charity Festival of Creativity "Children for Children", the International Children's Chess Festival "Russia-Europe-Asia", the All-Russian Literary Festival competition with international participation "Star of the Arctic - Umka".

The Agreement will make it possible to introduce exchange programs for students and teachers, begin the joint development of teaching materials, and conduct joint lessons and holidays in online and offline formats.