(ChinaDaily.com.cn, Washington, November 2nd) On the evening of November 2nd ET, “Tracing Back in Yunnan”—The Webinar on Traditional Architecture of Yunnan Province, co-hosted by KUST, Dali Leyo Hotel and Sidwell Friends School, was held online in Kunming, Dali and Washington synchronously. In order to promote the better implementation of the China Folk House Retreat project in the US, Counselor Zhang Yun of the Office of Educational Affairs attended the event and delivered a speech at the venue of Sidwell Friends School.
In his speech, Counselor Zhang Yun firstly recalled the vivid scene of Ambassador Qin Gang’s visit to the China Folk House Retreat project in June, and then expressed thanks to Dr. John Flower of Sidwell Friends School for showing the cultural heritage of Chinese traditional architecture to American people, especially young people, and for making contributions to facilitate educational and cultural exchanges between China and the United States. He said that Ambassador Qin and the Chinese Embassy in the United States have attached great importance to the development of the project and have actively coordinated Yunnan Province’s support to the follow-up construction of the project. The successful hosting of this webinar marks a new starting point for the two sides in terms of protecting and spreading Chinese traditional architectural culture, as well as a new platform for promoting friendly exchanges between Chinese and American people. It is expected that the two sides will work together to make greater contributions to the promotion of cultural exchanges between China and the United States.
Dr.Flower, along with other Chinese and American experts and scholars at the conference, introduced the history and characteristics of Chinese folk and Yunnanese traditional architecture, reviewed the development of Sino-US youth friendly exchange projects, and conducted online exchanges with Chinese and American teachers and students on issues such as residential restoration and architectural culture. At the meeting, KUST announced that it will donate tiles to the China Folk House Retreat, which was warmly welcomed by the American delegates.
About one hundred people attended the event, including Chinese and American teachers and students from Sidwell Friends School and KUST as well as American and Chinese culture lovers.
The “China Folk House” in the China Folk House Retreat refers to a wooden farmhouse which was built on the Lancang River in Cizhong Village, Deqin County, Yunnan Province. The house needed to be relocated because the local government intended to build a hydropower station to improve the living conditions of the local residents. With the help of various parties, Dr.Flower and his team disassembled the house, and shipped all the original structures to the United States in September 2017, then began to rebuild the house on the bank of the Xanadu River in Jefferson Town, West Virginia. The project provides an experimental venue for students in the Greater Washington area of the United States to learn about and experience the customs, culture, architecture, agriculture, and handicrafts of northwestern Yunnan, China, which greatly promotes cultural and educational exchanges between China and the United States.
Translated by: FU Ruoxue, Faculty of Foreign Languages and Cultures
Edited by: DUAN Tianting, Faculty of Foreign Languages and Cultures (English)
Issued by: Division of International Cooperation (English)
Edited by: KUST News Center (Chinese)
