The Sydney Opera House appears above the Sydney Harbour Bridge, May 2, 2017, as the first tai chi class is conducted in Australia's largest city by the Australian Academy of Tai Chi and Qigong. (Photo/Agencies)
It is mid-June, and the temperature has reached 40 degrees Celsius on the outskirts of Samarkand, an ancient city in Uzbekistan, where an archaeological team composed of Chinese and Uzbek archaeologists is busy excavating a large tomb of the ancient Yuezhi people.[Special coverage]
"The development and prosperity of the ancient Silk Road started with the Yuezhi, an ancient nomadic people in China," said Wang Jianxin, leader of the archaeological team and a professor from China's Northwest University in the city of Xi'an.
Caravans along the ancient Silk Road carried China-made silk, tea and porcelain westward, and brought back while pepper, carrots and horses.
Like the ancient road that had brought change, the modern Belt and Road will play an important role in facilitating opportunities for both Chinese and non-Chinese alike, as well as helping the outside world understand and enjoy the charm of Chinese culture.
Instead of silk and tea, today Chinese traditional medicine, martial arts and language have now become the country's most valuable cultural treasures in the eyes of many.
MARTIAL ARTS: INNER HARMONY
Peru has embraced Chinese culture ever more as the two countries have developed their economic, trade and social ties in the last decade.
Chinese traditions such as martial arts and acupuncture are popular with Peruvians and act as windows to a distant culture.
Master Juan Vasquez, 63, has travelled to China over 20 times, with each trip furthering his study of Tai Chi.
Vasquez has been training in diverse martial arts since he was 17 but Tai Chi has been his favorite, because he thinks it has "more complete and deeper" cultural and philosophical connotations than other kinds of martial arts.
In 1992, Vasquez met the great Chinese master Chen Zhengfei, the 11th generation master of Chen-style Tai Chi, and became his disciple.
For many years, Vasquez spent one month per year in China's Henan Province to study Tai Chi with Chen.
After practicing four hours per day for over 40 years, Vasquez has gained international renown. He has been crowned a Peruvian champion multiple times.
Since 1994, Vasquez has taught Chen-style Tai Chi in Lima and has gathered over 100 disciples, ranging from children under the age of 10 to seniors over 80.
Among them, Marleni Calcina has been training for 13 years. She said after "feeling great stress" at work and in her life, it was Tai Chi that taught her the value of "going slowly".
"My transformation began with Tai Chi, which helped me gain peace and inner harmony," Calcina said. "For me now, practicing Tai Chi is like speaking with my soul."
CHINESE MEDICINE: MAGIC NEEDLES
Suheir Subhi finally got some relief from her chronic shoulder and neck pain, thanks to help originated thousands of miles away and dating back many centuries.
