Members of an arts troupe from southwest China's Sichuan Province perform during a Chinese Culture Day event at Geelong College in Australia, Sept. 16, 2026. (Xinhua/Xu Haijing)

　　GEELONG, Australia, Sept. 17 (Xinhua) -- During the lunch break on Wednesday at Geelong College, about an hour's drive southwest of Melbourne, several girls dressed in traditional Chinese attire walked across the historic campus, while students gathered inside Morrison Hall to try their hand at Chinese calligraphy, paper lantern-making and traditional bead crafts.

　　By around 2 p.m., the hall was filling up. As the girls in traditional Chinese dress took to the stage, a Chinese Culture Day performance organized by the Chinese Consulate-General in Melbourne got underway.

　　Three performers dressed as Daomadan, or female warrior characters in traditional Chinese opera, brandished long spears across the stage. A performer used her hands to create lively animal silhouettes on a screen, while another wielded a long-spouted brass teapot, combining tea pouring with martial arts-inspired movements.

　　A member of an arts troupe from southwest China's Sichuan Province performs during a Chinese Culture Day event at Geelong College in Australia, Sept. 16, 2026. (Xinhua/Xu Haijing)

　　The performance, presented by an arts troupe from southwest China's Sichuan Province, drew cheers and applause from the students.

　　"I really love the tea dance. It was very cool. I thought the blend of martial arts and dancing was amazing," student Ivy Grey told Xinhua.