Journey to the East —— Learning Chinese History

（Journey to the East, a program fully supported by DL Holdings and CJSE Family Foundation, aims to provide opportunities for Eastside students to learn about the world while developing into caring global citizens. Students between the two countries will further increase mutual trust and future cooperation by participating in lectures related to Chinese culture and visiting China.）

Recently, the second session of the “Journey to the East” seminar was successfully held. The second session included more activities which deepened American students’ understanding towards China. We started off with our students watching a video made by the students of Shanghai Jinshan World Foreign Language School showcasing their school. The Chinese students featured in the video will be the buddies of the American students throughout the time of the seminar. They will also be the host students when the Eastside Ambassadors visit Shanghai next June.?The American students viewed the video with great delight.?They look forward to getting to know their buddies further through many interactive activities in the coming months.

The first lecture in the morning was conducted by Ms. Tianlin Walsh, a Stanford 5th year PhD scholar.?She shared stories of imperial China from the First Emperor to Marco Polo, reciting Tang poetry and intrigues of the Three Kingdoms along the way.

(Teacher showed the students the Nine Linked Rings)

The splendid Chinese culture is a unique spiritual wealth. Chinese history and culture deeply affect the development of today's China. An in-depth understanding and learning of Chinese culture will help to have a deeper understanding and reflection on China's modern development path and Chinese values.

Next up, Ms. Wei Zhang, a puzzle collector and researcher shared the stage with Ms. Niana Liu while they amazed the students with the Nine Linked Rings and Tangram.?The students had fun in a hands-on workshop with two masters of Chinese puzzles and games. Our Eastside Ambassadors were given opportunities to solve a few of the intricate challenges and they did not disappoint our visitors with their logical minds and nimble hands.?Everyone had fun while learning this rich tradition of Chinese culture.

(The students solved problems with Tangram)

Our last lecture of the morning was done via Zoom, presented by Professor Mark Berkson from Hamline University in Minnesota.?The captivating talk held everyone’s attention for the entire time of this lecture.?All attended were absorbed while learning about Confucian order, Taoist abstraction, and Buddhist spirituality in a discussion that was laced with plenty of everyday examples and convincing imageries.

At the end of the session, our caterers served real authentic Szechuan food and the noodles which were just a bit too hot for the untrained mouths.?Luckily, we had plenty of cool sodas and the students could still fill their tummies with General Tso’s Chicken and Mapo Tofu. Ms. Crystal Jiang, honorary chairman of DL Holdings, brought a surprise to the students and presented each person with a pair of exquisite chopsticks.