Recently, on the occasion of Slight Heat, one of the 24 solar terms in the Chinese lunar calendar, a book-club meeting called “Pursuit of origin, Diverse culture, Enhance the soft power of the city” was held in “Luo Xin Study” located at Laya Plaza in Pudong District, Shanghai. Visitors from Chinese and foreign families, overseas Chinese in Japan, international students, Chinese and foreign enterprises and international communities in Shanghai took part in the activity.

Chris (second from right) is appointed as a "Chinese Cultural Experience Officer".

The Chinese and foreign guests visited an exhibition featuring China's traditional 24 solar terms, tasted Chinese tea, enjoyed Chinese folk music and shared Chinese & foreign cultural books. Chris, from the United States, and his wife were invited to be “Chinese Cultural Experience Officers”. Luo Xin, a cultural celebrity and the founder of Luo Xin Study was invited to be the “General Advisor of Culture and Art” of Green City (Biyun in Chinese) International Community, which is known as the “Little United Nations”.

Luo Xin talked about the original intention of founding “Luo Xin Study”, and recommended excellent books from China and abroad. “When we are learning from books and understanding culture and art, we should deeply explore its essence,” said Luo Xin.

Chris and his wife shared their knowledge of cultural differences between East and West, and the charm of Huizhou architecture in China. They have been living in China for more than 20 years. “The friendliness of Chinese people contains traditional Chinese virtues and the Chinese people around us, both young and old, love to learn new things. Shanghai is also our favorite city because of its openness, vigour and internationalization. In addition, technology is developing rapidly in China. When I go out in China, I need to only bring a mobile phone because cities in China have very efficient life service systems. Sometimes when I go back to the United States, I’m not accustomed to the life there without so much convenience,” said Chris.

A book-club meeting

The guests visited an exhibition featuring China's traditional 24 solar terms, tasted Chinese tea and appreciated Chinese folk music.

The organizer of the activity, “Jinchen Green Book Club”, is a public welfare cultural organization that regularly organizes various cultural activities for the international community, aiming to enhance the soft power of the city.