The fourth student delegation from the Beijing No. 2 Middle School is on a hike to the Oeschinen Lake, accompanied by Adolf Ogi (second right, last row), former president of the Swiss Confederation, and Helmut Reichen (first right, second row), during a visit to Interlaken, Switzerland, in August 2002. [Photo courtesy of Helmut Reichen]

Helmut Reichen, former principal of Gymnasium Interlaken in Switzerland, recently revisited China after a four-year interval. Since his first trip to China in October 1978, he has made over 100 visits to this country, witnessing its transformation resulting from the reform and opening-up.

Reichen served as the president of the KSGR (Konferenz der Schweizerischen Gymnasialrektorinnen und Gymnasialrektoren, literally meaning "conference of Swiss high school principals"), vice president of the European School Heads Association and director of the International Confederation of Principals. For more than four decades, he has dedicated himself to fostering friendly exchanges between Swiss and Chinese high schools. Through his efforts, Gymnasium Interlaken has established sister-school relationships with prominent schools in China such as the Beijing No. 2 Middle School, Shanghai Datong High School, Anhui Tunxi No. 1 Senior High School and Kunming No. 8 High School.

Starting connection

Reichen developed an interest in Chinese history and culture at a young age. He shared with us that in the 1960s, reports on China by Swiss news media were limited, sometimes containing false information that misled the public. Chinese people portrayed in those reports always wore work uniforms and were surrounded by old buildings, in both rural and urban settings. Out of curiosity, Reichen paid his first visit to China on October 2, 1978. He recalled: "Upon disembarking, we stepped into a cramped, dimly lit arrival hall where travelers from the long journey and employees at the airport silently and curiously stared at each other. Except for the four customs officers and uniformed people responsible for immigration checks, we barely saw any other individual. Other than a small platform in front of a red background wall, with a statue of Chairman Mao Zedong (1893–1976) on it, the entire hall had no more decorations."