Chinese Culture Exchange UK

We went in October and the weather was lovely, not too hot or humid. Luckily we had no rain during our stay. Even at the end of October the temperatures were around 24C so it was very comfortable. We visited Xitang and Tongli, where we stayed for a few days.

This gave our trip a real feeling of "Old China". Pictured is a typical street in the area where we stayed. It was like going back in time (except we did have electicity and modern plumbing!) We had the opportunity to live in a beautiful hotel furnished with period furniture.

Our trip lasted for 14 days and we visited Tongzhou (Nantong), Tongli, Xitang, Nanjing and Shanghai.

The Stone Camel and Stone Warrior guarding the Xiaoling Tomb. These figures are each carved out of a single piece of stone. Camels, Elephants, Lions, horses and the mythical Kylin (Chinese unicorn) and the "Xiezhi" all guard the route to the the tomb. There are 24 animals standing in pairs. The area is very quiet and relaxaing, a great contrast to Nanjing's busy streets.

In Nantong we met our old friend Mr Zhang, who kindly demonstrated his caligraphy for us. We were very thrilled to watch him at work and to be able to bring home a treasured memento of the occasion.

In Nanjing we visited the home of famous painting Master, Zhu Ming Kung.

He took the time to paint a Chicken, to show us how to build up the picture composition. He also showed us some of his wonderful landscapes .

We were very happy to spend some time with such a well known artist. He was very friendly and helpful too, giving some advice to the painers in our group.

We took part in the Tong Zhou International Tai Chi Festival. Gold medals were awarded to Sue Johnson, John Chang and Evelyn Maclean. We saw demonstrations of sword, long pole (da gan), Xing Yi, Mulan Quan, Yang style Tai Chi, Chen Style and much more!

 We also had the chance to practice in the morning with some of the local students. It was a great oportunity to compare our Tai Chi with theirs (it was exactly the same!)