THERE will be a clash of cymbals and a lion dance when a Southampton cultural institute celebrates its 10th anniversary.

A day of Chinese language, cultural workshops and performance art will be held when the Confucius Institute praises the best of Chinese culture on Saturday, September 27.

China Art Southampton and the Southampton Chinese School will also be taking part in the celebrations, which begin at 10am at the Cantell School in Violet Road.

Children will be performing Chinese folk dancing while visitors can take part in Chinese language workshops with prizes up for grabs.

There will also be the chance to try folk dancing, calligraphy, paper-cutting, opera mask painting, traditional games and tai chi at the free event.

Students will also be putting on a show of traditional Chinese costumes.

President of the institute, Xueyi Zhu, said she hoped to see hundreds of people at the event.

She said: “This is a global celebration open to everybody. There are more than 400 Confucius Institutes around the world.

“The Confucius Institute started ten years ago with the first one in South Korea. This one here in Southampton was opened in 2011.

“I would just like to offer the opportunity to experience Chinese culture and language.

“I hope to see many people. We hope we can get 1,000 people to come along on the day.”

Based at the University of Southampton, the centre hosts lectures and classes as well as conferences about China and Chinese culture.

It also takes part in Chinese New Year celebrations.

For more information about the University of Southampton Confucius Institute email confucius@soton.ac.uk or visit southampton.ac.uk/confucius.