A Chinese diplomat handed over a letter written by China's First Lady Peng Liyuan, the wife of Chinese President Xi Jinping, to Burg Gymnasium high school in Essen, Germany.

Guo Jinqiu, wife of the Chinese ambassador Wu Ken, conveyed greetings from Peng at a related event held at the school on February 22. Principal Simone Reuen and more than 10 students and teachers from Burg Gymnasium were present.

Students read out Peng's letter in both Chinese and German and said they felt encouraged by her words. 

One student shared his experience as a volunteer teaching in rural China, while others expressed interest in studying in the country.   

Students from the high school's Chinese choir sang "Let the World Filled with Love" and "After the Pandemic" in Chinese during the event.

The school's Chinese choir was created following Peng's visit in 2014 when she was accompanying President Xi in a state visit, Guo noted. Peng has maintained correspondence with students and staff ever since. 

In October 2016, Peng met with teachers and students of Burg Gymnasium while visiting Beijing.

Both Reuen and the students wrote back to Peng, handing over their letters to Guo, who thanked the school for supporting youth exchanges between China and Germany.

Burg Gymnasium is one of the 12 oldest public middle schools in Germany. It has been offering Chinese language courses since 1994 and has organized several exchanges to China in recent years.

(Cover image: Guo Jinqiu receives handicrafts by the students of Burg Gymnasium. /Chinese Embassy in Germany)

Read more: German high school writes back to China's First Lady Peng Liyuan