Professor Andrew King (a.king@hull.ac.uk)
CI Director
Professor King holds a personal research chair in music and technology. He was Head of the School of the Arts from 2017 until 2023 and is a Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. He previously led the music subject area and has led major research projects funded by AHRC, the Arts Council and the Paul Hamlyn Foundation (via PRSF, Sound and Music) in the areas of online music education, psychological wellbeing and evaluating the impact of composer residencies. Professor King is part of the steering group for the revision of the QAA Benchmark statements for Music in 2024.
Dr Yanyi Lu (y.lu2@hull.ac.uk)
CI Administrator
Dr Yanyi Lu (Lulu) earned her PhD in Music from the University of Hull and is a Fellow in Higher Education Academy. She has been leading the Chinese Whispers educational project for the past six years.
Dr Lu specialises in teaching Mandarin through music, particularly to school-aged children in the UK. She has developed an innovative Mandarin Singing Curriculum, which has been widely adopted in Mandarin language teaching across various educational settings.
Yi Zheng (y.zheng2@hull.ac.uk)
Senior Mandarin Teacher
Zheng Yi holds a Master’s degree in Teaching Chinese to Speakers of Other Languages from Tianjin Normal University. She worked as a volunteer Mandarin teacher in Kenya for two years and has extensive experience in Chinese language teaching. She also has considerable experience in competition coaching and event organisation, having coached students who went on to win national Chinese Bridge competitions and successfully organised two national Chinese Bridge finals.
Passionate about International Chinese Language Education, Zheng Yi is currently a Mandarin teacher at the Confucius Institute at the University of Hull, where she is primarily responsible for a range of coordination and administrative work, while also teaching a variety of Chinese language courses.
Guojing Fan（Kristine）(G.Fan@hull.ac.uk)
Senior Mandarin Teacher
Kristine holds a Master’s degree in Teaching Chinese to Speakers of Other Languages from Tianjin Normal University. She is an optimistic and cheerful individual, passionate about building positive relationships with others. Diligent, responsible, open-minded, and a strong communicator, she brings a collaborative spirit to her work. Having previously served as a Volunteer Mandarin Teacher in Kenya, Africa, Kristine now works as a qualified Mandarin teacher in the Confucius Institute at the University of Hull, where she teaches HSK Courses and Chinese cultural courses. In addition to teaching, she also manages outreach programmes and Chinese Proficiency Examinations.
Miaomiao Shi (M.Shi@hull.ac.uk)
Senior Mandarin Teacher
Miaomiao Shi graduated from Tianjin Normal University with a Master’s degree. She has three years of experience teaching Chinese in Thailand. Currently, she is a Mandarin teacher at the Confucius Institute at the University of Hull, where she teaches Chinese language courses.
Qi Zhu (Kiki) （2313517987@qq.com）
Volunteer Mandarin teacher
Kiki is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in International Chinese Education at Tianjin Normal University. She has experience teaching Chinese to students from different countries and cultural backgrounds. She also has experience in organising university events and undertaking administrative and coordination work.Kiki enjoys dance, singing, piano, volleyball, martial arts, recitation, and event hosting. She has also taught a range of Chinese cultural courses. She is currently a Volunteer Mandarin Teacher at the Confucius Institute at the University of Hull, where she teaches Chinese language and culture.
Yinren WANG (Rai)
Volunteer Mandarin Teacher
Yinren (Rai) is currently a postgraduate student at Tianjin Normal University, pursuing a Master’s degree in International Chinese Education under the supervision of Professor Zhong Yinghua, President of the International Society for Chinese Language Teaching (ISCLT).
Growing up in Jingdezhen, a city renowned for its porcelain, she developed a strong interest in traditional Chinese arts from an early age. She enjoys Chinese calligraphy, traditional Chinese painting and playing the guzheng. Passionate about Chinese language teaching, she has teaching experience and enjoys sharing Chinese language and culture with her students.
Wenqing DING
Volunteer Mandarin Teacher
Wenqing is a postgraduate student at Tianjin Normal University, where she is reading for a Master’s degree in International Chinese Education under the supervision of Associate Professor Guo Hong, Deputy Secretary-General of the Chinese Language Modernization Society.
A native of Tangshan, a city renowned for its shadow puppetry, Wenqing has a longstanding interest in traditional Chinese arts and three years’ experience of making shadow puppets. She specialises in HSK preparation and intensive Mandarin courses, including the Sutong Hanyu series, and is committed to sharing the Chinese language and culture with her students.
Shiyi Gao (Evelyn) 2236730924@qq.com
Volunteer Mandarin Teacher
Shiyi Gao holds a Master’s degree in Fine Arts from Tianjin Normal University. She specialises in Chinese painting, calligraphy, and watercolour, and has experience teaching art and creative activities to students. She enjoys introducing students to Chinese art and culture through fun, engaging, and hands-on lessons.
Xia Tao (Samuel)
Volunteer Mandarin Teacher
Xia Tao is a Master’s student in English Translation at Tianjin Normal University and a certified translator. Rooted in Chinese culture, he speaks fluent spoken English.He has solid experience in international Chinese language education, skilled at guiding learners to understand Chinese culture through bilingual explanation and cross-cultural communication.
An avid reader of literary classics, including works by Dostoevsky and Camus, he holds profound insights into Chinese and Western cultures and philosophies. Outside academic work, he is an enthusiastic runner. Long-distance running nurtures his perseverance, agility and quick thinking. These qualities support his rigorous, flexible approach to bilingual communication and teaching practice.