This past summer Gord Muir and Master Chen Zhonghua together led an exceptional tour of China. Aside from the rejuvenating and inspirational training at the mountain resort known as Daqingshan, participants toured Beijing, Shanghai, Jinan, Weifang, Qufu, and Suzhou.
As always the intinerary was punctuated by Master Chen’s elucidating instruction. Besides seeing many cultural and historical sites, the group visited several martial arts schools, most notably Master Li Enjiu’s school in Jinan and Master Ai Shenghua’s school in Weifang. After the main group departed, Master Chen, Muir and Todd Elihu met with Feng Zhiqiang’s disciples, Pan Houcheng, Liu Yuanyi and Cao Zhilin in Shanghai. After leaving Shanghai, they spent several days at Daqingshan with Master Cai Shengye, a long-time disciple of Hong Junsheng. Bidding farewell to the scenic and serene environs of Daqingshan they then headed to Beijing where they had the good fortune to spend some time with Grandmaster Feng Zhiqiang at his school in Beijing. While in Beijing, Master Chen, Muir and Elihu also met with Feng’s disciples Sun Zhonghua, Zhang Yuhai, and Peng Daishan, the latter two former students of the late Tian Xiuchen, a prominent disciple of Chen Fake. After Elihu left for Shanghai, Master Chen and Muir made their way to Chen Village and Zhaobao Village, the cradle of Taijiquan. Look out for Gord Muir’s book for which he was conducting interviews and compiling research on this trip, it should be a fascinating read!
