American students’ marvelous encounter with Chinese culture
Just back home in the US state of Washington, Isaiah Daniel Long was only too ready to share with his family and classmates the unforgettable moments about his China trip.
“It’s just something that a textbook can’t teach you ... It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and it will for sure change your life,” the Lincoln High School student recalled with gusto his encounter with tai chi, one of the traditional cultural classics, on Wudang Mountain, a sanctuary for the Taoism martial art in central China’s Hubei Province.
During the 11 days from March 17, a group of 24 American high-school students, including Long, visited Beijing and other Chinese cities as part of the exchange and study program that would invite 50,000 American youths to China over the next five years, an initiative proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping during his US visit late last year. All the 24 students were visiting China for the first time.
Long had counted the days until eventually landing up in China. He and many of his American peers were fascinated by Chinese martial arts. Dressed in tai chi suits, they hiked up the Wudang Mountain to a temple built hundreds of years ago, and practiced the Chinese martial art with local practitioners.
Greatly impressed by the peace and serenity amid aged trees and antique architecture, he said that all this prompted him to “take a step into history” and “kind of grasp what the people back then was.”
“The tai chi was so cool. It was really hard, but they did really well, and they practice a lot,” said Makenna Kelpman, a student from Steilacoom High School, also in the Washington State.
As a traditional Chinese martial art dating back to ancient times, tai chi consists of a series of gentle exercises intended to create harmony between the mind and body, and over the ages, it has become more focused on health promotion and rehabilitation.