Beginning with the year 2000, each year (except 2003*) the eighth grade class has made the journey to China to meet their pen pals at our sister-school in Beijing, and to shop in the bustle of Hong Kong. It's the opportunity-of-a-lifetime for them to experience the culture first-hand and put their language skills to the ultimate test. In Beijing, the students stay in the home of a family from the sister school. This intimate experience of life in China is a fitting culmination of study of China, its language, and its culture.

In January of 2005, for the first time the promise of a true "exchange" was fulfilled as Alice Fong Yu hosted students and teachers from The Experimental High School Attached to Beijing Normal University. Seventeen students and two teachers from Beijing spent a week with their counterparts at Alice Fong Yu. They participated in English, art and modern dance classes at school in the mornings. They toured UC Berkekey, City College, the Chinese Consulate and popular tourist destinations around the city in the afternoons. During their visit they stayed in the homes of Alice Fong Yu families practicing English, helping their American counterparts improve their Mandarin and forming new friendships.

This wonderful learning experience is made possible through the hard work and sacrifice of many parents, teaches, and especially the Cultural Exchange Committee members of the AFY Parents Association. Relentless fundraising and planning are required to pave the way for all students to participate in this exchange program, which we see as an integral part of the immersion experience.

Read about the visit from our sister school in the 2005 Cultural Exchange Program bulletin.

Read Principal Szeto's farewell message at the 2005 Cultural Exchange banquet.

Picture Albums
View the picture albums from the years 2001 and 2002.

* Unfortunately, the outbreak of SARS made the 2003 trip impossible. The students of that class have been invited to join in future trips and some have already done so.