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We arrived in Shanghai and stayed in the oldest part of the city, Songjiang. Master Liu Yong has many students in Shanghai and we had the opportunity to practise with them.
We are pictured above in a beautiful park, where we and the Shanghai students performed Tai Chi together.
Pictured - Liu Yong, Mary Rogowskyj, Philip Garside, Sue Johnson
We then travelled by train to Lian Yun Gang, which is Master Liu's home town. Situated by the sea and surrounded by mountains, it is a place of exceptional beauty. We swam in the Yellow Sea fom a beach straight out of paradise.
The famous story "Journey to West" about Sun Wu Kong the Monkey King, describes the "Fruit and Flower Mountain" and the "Waterfall Cavern" which we visited. The mountain area is serene and tranquil and ideal for Tai Chi practise. Next year we will spend a few days at the Mountain Hotel, for Tai Chi practise and sightseeing.
Master Liu Yong has many students in and around his home town. We trained daily with different groups, getting to know them and building up our "Tai Chi Family" connections.
We all practised Lao jia Yi Lu together and we were pleased to see that our form and their form is exactly the same. We practised by the City Wall, in the town centre, outside our hotel and in many other places with Liu Yong's students.
We also had daily "private" lessons with Liu Yong.
Following an "International Tai Chi festival", which we took part in, our pictures were in the local newspapers and we appeared on the local news programme. We also had dinner with the head of the Lian Yun Gang Wushu Association!
Pictured below - Tai Chi College Instructors exchange Friendship Banners with Lian Yun Gang Wushu Association.
The final stage of our trip was to stay for one week in Zhengzhou, Henan, the hometown of Grandmaster Chen Zheng Lei.
This was the Third International High Level Tai Chi Training Course. Although we were the only British students, there were students from Australia, Peru, Kazakstan, Hong Kong, and from all over China.
The training consisted of;
review the Lao Jia Yi Lu, review the Xin Jia Yi Lu,
review the Sword Form and the 18 Short form, and to also learn the Lao Jia Er Lu (pao choi).
One day was devoted to Pushing Hands.
Training began with personal practice 6.00 - 7.30am followed by breakfast. The morning class was 9.00 - 11.30am followed by lunch at 12.00. Afternoon class began at 3.00 - 5.30pm followd by dinner at 6.00pm. Evening theory classes began at 8.00 - 9.30pm.
The intensity of the training was terrific. All the students worked well together despite language problems. Tai Chi is a universal language!
We returned to Shanghai for a final day of sightseeing before our flight home.
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