Bendigo Southeast Secondary College Chinese teacher Vicky Zhau said 37 students from sister school Haimen Dongshou Middle School had been touring the country learning about the Australian way of life.

On Tuesday the students visited the Central Deborah Goldmine and the Golden Dragon Museum to learn about Chinese contributions to the gold rush.

“They don’t know too much about it. Maybe their host families have told them a little bit about mining. This is still only their second day in Bendigo,” Ms Zhau said.

Haimen Dongshou teacher Xun Li said the trip had been a lot of fun. He said the visit to the mine and museum would show students how hard their ancestors had worked.

Mr Li said students would get a beneficial insight into resilience and perseverance, and how important hard work was for future happiness.

The students spent Monday in Bendigo South East Secondary School classrooms studying arts and Humanities.

They plan to return to China by the end of the week.