陈聪源

Life in Huaqiao Xincun was concentrated within the neighbourhood. Besides daily classes, there were many extracurricular activities: dance classes, sports and school-organised factory and farm work. Each week, half a day was spent working in the school factory, for example packing crayons, or learning farming outside school, such as planting castor beans. The school emphasised all-round development.

The school had a large Soviet-style assembly hall, an unusually large gathering place in Guangzhou. It often hosted meetings, ceremonies and social celebrations for overseas Chinese.

During the summer holidays, the school organised study groups in selected classmates’ homes. In the spirit of Lei Feng, pupils often helped neighbours weed their gardens, expressing friendship and a willingness to work. Returned overseas Chinese families also frequently exchanged food and culture, sharing snacks from the countries where they had lived, including Southeast Asia and North America.