CHICAGO, Sept. 28 (Xinhua) -- Hundreds of students from Chicago public schools (CPS) and their parents gathered at Whitney Young Magnet High School in Chicago on Saturday to celebrate the annual Chinese Cultural Festival and immerse themselves in traditional Chinese culture.

Along the hallway of Whitney Young, more than 20 exhibitors presented students and their families with various kinds of Chinese culture-related activities, including Chinese calligraphy, paper-cutting, the game of go and acupuncture.

Sitting by a large table, several students listened attentively to a teacher who taught them how to hold a Chinese calligraphy brush to write Chinese characters.

Janathan Duran is one of them. He told Xinhua that he can speak a little bit Chinese and write some Chinese characters. "I like the Chinese culture and Chinese history, especially the Ming Dynasty. I find it very interesting," said Duran.

At the auditorium of the school, young artists from central China's Wuhan Conservatory of Music enchanted the audience with a series of Chinese musical instrument performances.

The Chinese traditional lion dance proved a hit among the audience. Two men propped up a lion costume and mimicked a lion's movement. They jumped up and down and did some acrobatics, drawing thunderous applause and cheers.

Students from CPS, such as Walter Payton College Prep High School and Northside College Prep High School, also presented viewers with graceful dances.

This is the sixth year for the Confucius Institute in Chicago (CIC) and the CPS to host the event.

According to Chinese Consul General in Chicago Zhao Jian, language is very important for promoting the friendship between different peoples. It is very pleased to see Chinese language become a very important program in the multi-cultural programs in the CPS.

"It is really the great commitment of the CPS and the whole city to further strengthen the cultural and people-to-people links between China and the United States. It shows that so many people are interested in the Chinese culture and Chinese language," said Zhao.

Being the third largest school district in the United States, CPS runs one of the most successful Chinese language programs in the country, with over 10,000 students learning Chinese in 41 schools.