French WorldSkills competitors sample Chinese traditions

SHANGHAI, Sept. 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- A news report from english.shanghai.gov.cn

French competitors at WorldSkills Shanghai 2026 got a hands-on introduction to Chinese culture at Shanghai Caoyang Vocational School on Sept 22.

The visit was part of One School One Member, a cultural exchange program that pairs local schools with WorldSkills members.

Among the visitors was Additive Manufacturing competitor Alexis Aubert, who was making his first trip to Shanghai. Local students greeted him and other members of the French delegation in Mandarin Chinese, English, French, and the Shanghai dialect.

Aubert then created a pearl-decorated artwork using Song brocade as its base. He described the process as delicate work and the finished piece as both a decoration and a reminder of Chinese culture that he could take home with him.

Other competitors turned to food and tea.

In a Chinese pastry workshop, Heavy Vehicle Technology competitor Arthur Baudry spent nearly half an hour making three goldfish dumplings, a traditional dim sum dish symbolizing abundance.

Fashion Technology competitor Manon Pouivet tried tea whisking in the style of the Song Dynasty (960-1279). Guided by a tea arts specialist, she watched a demonstration of techniques including roasting and grinding the tea, sifting the tea powder, warming cups, and whisking the brew.

Pouivet and other members of the French delegation then used bamboo whisks to create a frothy surface on the tea, experiencing a tradition dating back about a thousand years.

Pouivet said the tea experience was amazing. Since arriving in Shanghai, she added, she had found the city enormous and very modern and was particularly impressed by its nighttime lights.

Rachel Crawford, a former WorldSkills competitor from Australia, also joined the exchange. She encouraged young students to pursue what they love, explore their interests, and immerse themselves in skills training.

The visit also reflected longstanding ties between Shanghai and Marseille.

The two cities became friendship cities in 1987. Shanghai Caoyang Vocational School and its partner school in Marseille began exchanges in 1990 and signed a friendship agreement the following year.

In 2005, the schools signed a cooperation agreement to facilitate student exchanges for short-term corporate internships. Shanghai Caoyang Vocational School established an overseas Chinese cuisine teaching site in Marseille in 2019. Over the past two decades, more than 40 teachers and students from each school have visited the other.

Sabrina Roubache, France's minister delegate for vocational education, vocational training, and apprenticeship, said she was born and raised in Marseille and that more than 30 years of exchanges had helped the two schools get to know and understand each other. Their culinary cooperation, she added, continues.

Sharing skills, Roubache said, was the best way to build ties and turn an exchange into an unforgettable journey.

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SOURCE english.shanghai.gov.cn