Ties that bind: Kung fu, food, language learning

A student completes Chinese homework at Hamdan Bin Rashid Boys School. The enthusiasm for China, its people and its language is also felt at Hamdan Bin Rashid Boys School in Dubai, where more than 300 students in the ninth and 10th grades are studying Mandarin. Abdulla Mohammad Ali Aldarmaki, a 10th-grade student, says: "I started learning Chinese because I thought it would be a cool skill to have, something not everyone can do. I'm also interested in kung fu, and learning Chinese makes me feel closer to the world of martial arts."