In cooperation with Jungfrau Railways and Grindelwald Tourism, the Interlaken secondary school is organising a Swiss-Chinese ski camp from 8 to 13 February 2015 for the first time. After two days of practice, the pupils from China presented their skills on the ski school slope today at Kleine Scheidegg.

From 8 to 13 February 2015, 16 pupils from Huangshan along with Swiss pupils from Interlaken will attend a ski camp in Grindelwald. On Sunday, 8 February 2015, the young people from China were on skis for the first time. Today, Tuesday, they showed off their skills at the ski school campus at Kleine Scheidegg and were obviously enthusiastic about winter sports. "I really want to learn to ski. It's fun. I also love the mountains. They are as beautiful as Snow White," said 16-year-old schoolgirl Qiu Yun.

A Swiss premiere
The Swiss-Chinese ski camp is being conducted in this form for the first time in Switzerland. Together with instructors, the Interlaken pupils train their contemporaries from Huangshan in the art of skiing. The ski days are held in the Kleine Scheidegg-Männlichen area. The youngsters are housed in the Downtown Lodge in Grindelwald. With communal cooking and games, cultural exchange is in the foreground of camp life. In addition to winter sports, there are also classroom visits in Interlaken and excursions to Bern and Jungfraujoch.

Supported by the railways and tourist board
The project is a collaboration of Interlaken secondary school with Jungfrau Railways and Grindelwald Tourism. The aim is to inspire young people from China to ski and win them over as business boosters. In order to inspire visitors from Asia for winter sports and to extend their stay in the region, this winter season Jungfrau Railways have opened the Snow Fun Park on Kleine Scheidegg.

Interlaken secondary school has maintained a close partnership with the Tunxi No 1 Senior School in Huangshan since 2004. The union between the Jungfraujoch and the Huangshan Mountain (Yellow Mountains) began in 2002. The aim of the "Twin Mountain Relationship", as set out in the agreement, is to intensify cultural exchange and support for tourism, among other things. Interlaken was twinned with Huangshan City in 2008 in order to strengthen the link between the two destinations. For Christoph Ammann, headmaster of Interlaken secondary school, there are many reasons for these school partnerships and ski camps: "during their visit to China, our students will see what it means when an economy experiences almost explosive growth. The Chinese students in turn gain an insight into our dual education system, Swiss democracy and the tradition of winter sports".

erstellt 10.02.2015
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