Dear CCC friends,

Hope you are having a great summer! Please find below August Programmes of events and tours, and look forward to meeting many of you at these events.

Best wishes,
The Chinese Culture Club

August Lectures, talks and cultural programs

Illustrated Talk: Orally Passed Down Music from Daolang, Xinjiang Wednesday, August 1, 19:30-22:00 Shang Changping, famous anthropology photographer and contributor for China National Geography, will share her stories of Uyghur people in Daolang area of Xinjiang and their traditional musical canon passed down orally through several centuries >>> more

Talk: Looking Back at a Century of Chinese Drama Wednesday, August 8, 19:30-21:00 Claire Conceison, Asistant Professor of Drama at Tufts University in Massachusetts, will provide an overview of the development of spoken drama in China and the impact of recent economic reforms on the fate of artists in Beijing and Shanghai ... >>> more

Illustrated Talk: Life in Oasis by Kunlun Mountains Saturday, August 11, 14:30-16:30 Shang Changping will share with us her single expedition of Kunlun Mountain and Takla Makan Desert, and show her documentation of local residents life in the oasis, and the inhabitants at the surrounding plateau, plain and desert areas. >>> more

Book Club Day Group: "Lost Horizon" by James Hilton Wednesday, August 15, 10:30-12:00 While attempting to escape a civil war, four people are kidnapped and transported to the Tibetan mountains. It is here, in Shangri-La, where destinies will be discovered and the meaning of paradise will be unveiled >>> more

Lecture: Chinese Art History 1: Han & Tang Arts and Artifacts Wednesday, August 15, 19:30-21:30 CCC invites three professors from China Fine Arts Academy to give three presentations on Chinese Arts and Artifacts of Han and Tang Dynasty based on archaeological findings; History of traditional Chinese paintings and Contemporary Chinese art. >>> more

	Talk & Screening: Ballet in China Saturday, August 18, 20:00-22:00 Wang Ning will present photos he took on China's ballet troupes all over China for many years, from their daily life, practise to rehearsals and performances. Some masterpieces of China's ballet drama episodes will be screening >>> more

	Lecture: Evolutions of Beijing's Walls and Gates Wednesday, August 29, 19:30-21:30 Professor Wang from Beijing Academy of Social Science will give a lecture on the history and evolutions of Beijing’s walls, from Jin, Yuan Dynasty to Republic of China eras. >>> more

	Folk songs & music on boat at Lotus Pond Saturday, September 8, 19:00-22:30 Join us for an evening of music and romance hosted on the boats by world-famous musicians, who will serenade us playing traditional Chinese instruments and thrill to the vocal talents of accomplished folk singers. >>> more

	Calligraphy Course Every Tuesdays, Sep.4-Oct.30, 10:00-11:30 Conducted in English, the class teaches everything, from meaning and evolution of the characters, culture to related history and music. You don't have to be able to write Chinese already, just have to be enthusiastic and be willing to hold a brush >>> more

	Chinese Painting Class Every Monday, Aug.6-Sep.24, 19:30-21:30 Chinese ink & water painting is a thousand-year tradition, and the xieyi(free-hand) style is one of the most unique style of Chinese painting. The CCCC painting course is specially designed for westerners>>> more

August Out-Of-Town Tours

Ancient City Xi An (Terracotta Warriors) Aug 12 eve.-14 Take weekend trip to visit the famous Terracotta Warrior Site; Ancient City Wall, Shaanxi Museum; Great Mosque and Muslim Street; Wild Goose Pagoda, etc. >>> more

	Yangtze River Cruise & Dazu Rock Carving Aug.16-20 The Yangtze, China's longest river, originates on the Qinghai-Tibet-Plateau and flows eastwards. The rushing waters formed the dramatic scenery of the famous Three Gorges. Enjoy the spectacular mountainous landscape of the Yangtze River and its tribu >>> more

Datong Trip (Grottoes & Hanging Monastery) Aug.17 eve.-19 Join this weekend tour to see the second-largest of the nearly 51,000 sandstone statues of Buddha in 53 Yungang grottoes. Buddhist cave art began here in Datong, 160 miles west of Beijing, in the fifth century, by Xianbei minority, which ruled North >>> more

	Huitengxile Inner Mongolia Grassland Tour Aug.25-26 it was worthwhile to visit the enchanting steppes & fantastic grassland! To find the less spoiled and touristy grassland with relatively full -up grass, and yet accessible for a two or three days excursion, CCC recommends the grassland Huitengxile (2 >>> more

Day-trip: Vineyard & Wine-tasting in Hebei Saturday, August 25, 10:00-17:00 Tour the best winery and vineyard at Huailai, 130 kilometres to the northwest of Beijing, which is the same latitude as Bordeaux and California. Situated inbetween Guanting reservoir and Yanshan mountain range, Huailai boasts the best soil and climat >>> more

	Weekend trip to Chengde: Imperial Mountain Resort Sep.1-2 Take CCC's comfortable bus to Chende, Hebei Province to see the Summer Mountain Resort (Bishushanzhuang) and its Outlying Temples. The size of Chengde Summer resort is as big as the Forbidden City and the Summer Palace combined. It is surround >>> more

Huitengxile Inner Mongolia Grassland Tour Sep.1-2 it was worthwhile to visit the enchanting steppes & fantastic grassland! To find the less spoiled and touristy grassland with relatively full -up grass, and yet accessible for a two or three days excursion, CCC recommends the grassland Huitengxile (2 >>> more

6 Day Silk Road Trip - Dunhuang, Turpan, Kashgar Sep.6-11 CCC will organize a 6-day trip to trace the Silk Road Route, starting from Dunhuang through Turpan to Kashgar and Karakuri Lake and Snow Mountains. >>> more

Whats on in two weeks

	Shangyuan Established Artists Village Tour Saturday, July 28, 10:00-16:30 Shangyuan is non-tourist artists community in a peaceful village. These academic artists are relatively older and have established their fame in China and abroad. CCC makes appointments with some famous painters and sculptors and visit their homes. >>> more

Overnight Excursion: Obscure Castle of Great Wall & Bone Chinawares Saturday-Sunday, July 28-29 Take coach to Tangshan, famous bone chinaware city, and then stay overnight at courtyard houses in an obscure village next to the Great Wall at the Green Mountain Pass >>> more

	Royal Canal Boat Tour to the Summer Palace Wednesday, August 1, 09:00-13:30 Cruise along the imperial canal in a motorized canopy boat past the Beijing Zoo, the Beijing Aquarium and the Purple Bamboo Garden; appreciate the great views en route, and stroll in the garden to meet taichi practitioners beside lotus ponds and amat >>> more

	Beijing Walk: Summer Palace Wednesday, August 1, 14:30-17:30 The Summer Palace is an imperial garden mainly dominated by Longevity Hill and the Kunming Lake. Three quarters of the garden is water and rest are a variety of palaces, gardens, and other classical-style architectural structures. >>> more

Great Wall Mutianyu & Ming Tombs Thursday, August 2, 09:30-18:30 Mutianyu is a famous section of the Great Wall, and it is not so commercialized but also a moderate section (not so physically demanding). Ming Tombs is the largest and well preserved imperial tomb complex with over 500 years >>> more

	Great Wall Mutianyu & Ming Tombs Thursday, August 9, 09:30-18:30 Mutianyu is a famous section of the Great Wall, and it is not so commercialized but also a moderate section (not so physically demanding). Ming Tombs is the largest and well preserved imperial tomb complex with over 500 years >>> more

	Day-trip: Silver Fox Cave Sunday, August 12, 9:30-17:30 Enjoy the spectacular sights in the karst cave with the unusual formations and stone flowers. Boating trips run on a stream 106 meters below ground level, where you will see waterfalls along the way. The average temperature in the cave is 14 degrees >>> more