Chinese Culture – Intensive Learning @ MFS

A Peaceful Goodbye: Yu Garden and Our Last Day in China

March 30, 2026March 30, 2026Chinese CultureLeave a comment

By Mia D. Today we woke up feeling sad, knowing that we would be leaving later in the day. All of our time spent becoming closer with new people and making memories would soon come to an end. But to start off the day, we visited the Yu Garden. The Yu Garden was built...

MFS Alum Zack Fox Joins Us for a Nighttime River Cruise

March 29, 2026March 29, 2026Chinese CultureLeave a comment

Today we got up early to catch our three hour flight to Shanghai. While up in the air you can see the many ports and ships full of storage containers. Later when we landed and walked around we learned that Shanghai is a very important place for China as it is a big part...

Iconic Landmarks in the Heart of Beijing: Tian’anmen Square and Forbidden City

March 23, 2026March 23, 2026Chinese Culture

Waking up at 6:00 a.m. wasn’t easy, but it was worth it. After breakfast at 6:30, we left at 7:00 with our tour guide, Li Shao Jie, and headed to Tian’anmen Square (天安门). Even though the line was long, it actually turned into a really meaningful experience. While we were waiting, we got the...

A Long Flight and Legendary Landmarks: The Great Wall and the Temple of Heaven

March 22, 2026March 23, 2026Chinese Culture

To start our day, we landed from a grueling 16-hour flight at the Beijing Capital International Airport, where we got breakfast and made it through TSA and baggage claim with no problems. From there, we met our tour guide, Li Shao Jie, who took us on a bus tour to the Great Wall, where...

Chinese Culture, Day Four — Trip to Chinatown

April 2, 2023April 2, 2023Chinese Culture

Today we went to Chinatown in Philadelphia. During the first half of the day we visited Chinese Culture & Arts and learned about the history of instruments and the different types of music that helped shape Chinese culture. Our tour guides gave tutorials on how to play and allowed the class to play traditional...

Tea and Tai Chi

March 30, 2023March 30, 2023Chinese Culture

Today in Chinese Culture, we started our day off by watching traditional Chinese opera. We watched three different types: Cantonese, Shanghai area, and northwestern China. The kind of opera differs by region. Then, we watched a few videos about Chinese Tea Ceremonies. We got to sample Pu’erh tea, which is a type of fermented...

Chinese Culture, Day Three — Homemade dumplings and wontons

March 29, 2023March 30, 2023Chinese Culture

On day three of Chinese Culture Intensive Learning we learned how to make traditional Chinese dumplings and wontons. We made three different types of dumplings for everyone to enjoy. We made vegetarian, pork, and beef dumplings. For vegetarian dumplings we used a plant-based dough while the other options used different dough. First we mixed...

Chinese Culture, Day Two — Weaving, acupuncture, and group games

March 28, 2023March 28, 2023Chinese Culture

The day started with a brief review of the Qin Dynasty and Han Dynasty, which we learned about on the first day. We mentioned the Silk Road, Confucianism, and regional differences. Expanding on the topic of regional differences, Ms. Li showed videos of various dialects in China, which she says are “like a whole...

Chinese Culture — History, art forms, games, and food

March 27, 2023March 27, 2023Chinese Culture

We learned about Chinese history, art forms, games, and food on the first day of Chinese Culture. In the morning, we learned about the Shang dynasty, Spring and Autumn dynasty, the Warring States, the Qin dynasty, and the Han dynasty. Each dynasty had its own unique legacies that impacted Chinese cultures, such as Confucianism...

Chinese Culture, Day Five — Porcelain, Dim Sum and Shopping

March 25, 2022March 25, 2022Chinese Culture

Today, Thursday 3/24, we explored the Philadelphia Art Museum, ate Dim Sum for lunch, and shopped at a local Chinese market. In the museum we explored numerous exhibits of Chinese culture including porcelain pottery, replicas of villages, common art, and weapons and armor. The exhibits made the places feel as if we were actually...

Chinese Culture, Day Four — Taiji, acupuncture, and more food

March 23, 2022March 23, 2022Chinese Culture

Our fourth day of Chinese Culture IL started with a taiji session. At 9:20, we went into the Blue Gym and learned about the uses of taiji, which helps blood flow, increases energy, and helps build muscle strength. After that, we practiced taiji and found that it requires consistency, balance, and flexibility. At around...

Chinese Culture, Day Three — A visit to the Pearl S. Buck House

March 23, 2022March 23, 2022Chinese Culture

By day three, starting our day with a faux tea ceremony has become tradition. Today, we tasted black tea with a hefty amount of creamer. (The consensus was that yesterday’s jasmine tea was too bitter.) While sipping our tea, we watched the movie The Good Earth, a film based on the 1931 novel of...

Chinese Culture, Day Two — Tea & traditional music

March 22, 2022March 22, 2022Chinese Culture

This morning, Chinese Culture tried jasmine tea in a mock tea ceremony. Then, our group ventured into Chinatown in Philadelphia, PA, to learn more about traditional Chinese music. We met with professors of traditional Chinese musical theory and performance. They had instruments resembling those original Chinese instruments that are 5000 years old and explained...

Chinese Culture, Day One — Kites and calligraphy

March 18, 2022March 21, 2022Chinese Culture

We began our introduction to Chinese Culture with a very fascinating and interactive traditional Chinese calligraphy lesson from an outside presenter. Our teacher, Raymond Zhu (Zhu Laoshi), was quite well-versed in the art of calligraphy and Chinese fan painting, and he brought in a family heirloom to show: a centuries-old book of handwritten Chinese...

Chinese Culture Day 5

March 28, 2019March 28, 2019Chinese Culture

On our last full day of Intensive Learning, we were taught gong fu fan by zhang Lao shi. It was fun to learn, but scary knowing that we will have to perform in front of all the local IL programs tomorrow. After 3 hours of practice we traveled to Yi Pan in Mt. Laurel...