Year of the Dragon Special

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As Spring Festival celebrations get into high gear and the world enters the Year of the Loong, or Dragon, this special edition of the Hub taps into the strength and the wisdom of the legendary creature, herald of a prosperous, healthy Chinese New Year. Wang Guan first talks to Ekaterina Smelova, a fitness trainer who has already spent a decade in China, to get a few tips about how to stay fit both mentally and physically. Wang Guan also talks to Charles Besancon, founder of The French House of Urumqi, and to Mickaël Viudez, director of the International Relations Department at Asia Silk Road Group, to look at people-to-people exchanges as China and France mark the 60th anniversary of their diplomatic relations while China has allowed visa-free entry for citizens from Germany, France, Spain, the Netherlands and Italy. And Angela Li, third-year student at the London School of Economics and Political sciences and chief director of the LSE China Development Forum, discusses ways to better tell the China story in Britain to foster mutual understanding. In the final section of the show, Joel Mikael Walker, a graduate student in acupuncture at the Henan University of Chinese Medicine with a passion for traditional culture, praises China’s holistic approach to medicine, and discusses using social media to help promote tourism. Now, wait till the end of the show and watch Wang Guan performing lunges and squats!

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From cgtn headquarters in Beijing this is the Hub with one1 greetings and Happy Chinese New Year happy Lunar New Year to all of you I’m wongan in Beijing as year of the dragon or Lon and hero the Chinese New Year on behalf of my whole team I extend our heartfelt wishes for

Good health and robust well-being to every one of you now to usher in the new year the Year of the Dragon what better way to do it than to invest in your health so today I’m catching up with an old friend who’s doing just that her job

Is to help the Chinese and actb alike getting Fitter you been in China this is year what 12 10 11 um since 2011 I think it’s 12 and a half years right now time flies how did you like um your China experience overall oh I love it um I think China so far has become like a second home to me

I’ve often asked the question like where’s better you know from taxi drivers and when you talk to regular Chinese people on the street like where is it better you been to China so long where is like home here it’s just different experience so both are home

For me what touched you what was the moment that made you be like wow I wanted to be staying in this country I want to explore this country more um was it a person or a thing or I think it’s people in general um it’s different culture different place my hometown is

Not very big so we don’t have many you know like Sky yes you know it’s a very simple town with a very nice slow pace um and when you come to Big City the T engine for me is you know it looked very different very green very clean and

People were very welcoming and everything was so convenient and everybody was very helpful this is Apparently one of your favorite workout one my favorite workout um why do you think people love it U I always say the same thing I know many studios many gy have a community now so we always also

Try to push that way like to create connections between people so they come back not for not for the just the work out and then leave so we give people half an hour break time between the classes so they can talk people find friends here people share sometimes you listen to

People’s problem sometimes they share each other’s problem and then it’s it become um like a therapetic place therapetic like psychology kind of you know psychological place where you can reload and and re reset yourself for the day for not just for AC but for Chinese too I see a lot of Chinese making

Friends with aats aats Talking amongst themselves Chinese amongst themselves it’s a very mixed group everybody’s a kind of friend here for the Lunar New Year for the Chinese New Year the Year of the Dragon many people have New Year resolutions yeah um you think Fitness should be one of them definitely yes but

Specifically how for those who been not necessarily had the habit of working out or those who work out uh with less intensity what would you want to say to them I mean Fitness is it should be it’s a big part of wealth you will definitely feel happier after the workout and when

You don’t feel like working out but you put the shoes on and put the clothes on and then you get out you finish the workout and then you feel better after all much happier you know um it can remove it at at least it can it can keep

You in that healthy space all right Katie we’re celebrating the the Lunar New Year the Chinese New Year the Spring Festival however you call it um what do you think uh the Year of the Dragon may bring us and what do you think a dragon signifies yes when I think about a

Dragon I always think about China cuz this is something that you can see everywhere here but this is power um it’s Pride discipline um you know Adventure when you definitely if you say you’re going to do something you will do it how are you going to celebrate the new New Year

You make dumplings yes we try to do it every year um with my Chinese friends we make our own style dumplings we buy um the the pure you know the how the dough and then we make different kind of fillings Nutella we like mix all the culture together what’s your favorite

Filling um if it’s not traditional one I like the sweet one with lella and banana we and we boiled it but it was really good um but other than that the beef one and if I order I like the um celery with egg yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes um do

You watch cctv’s Lunar New Year Gala yes you do I do almost every year I like the the the comedy the stand up thing that they’re seeing the performance beautiful I wish one day I can visit it by person so maybe I can oh yeah okay make her dream

Come true yeah our friends at CCTV the year 2024 begins with a spirit of inclusiveness as China welcomes foreign guests with open arms from last December China resumed or implemented its visa-free policy for many European countries including France Germany Italy the Netherlands and Spain moreover Singapore and China agree to Grant Visa

Free access to each other’s Travelers with the Lunar New Year approaching a large number of Chinese tourists are expected to travel abroad and at the same time we expect more foreign friends in China for the festive season and it’s not just about tourism is also about building lasting People to People

Bounding as people travel across borders some decided to settle down this year China and France celebrate their 60-year relations and in today’s Hub we’re joined by two French gentlemen who’ve made China their home I’ll be talking to Charles bakon he is a founder of the French House of ului in shinjang and

Also to Mike VES he’s the director of the international relations department at the Asia silk World group we’ll also be having Angela Lee third year student at the London School of economics and political science and chief director of the LSC China development Forum joining us from London so we’re celebrating the

Lunar New Year the Chinese New Year and uh in China’s lunar calendar the 12 signs of the zodiac are represented by 12 animals or animal likee totems Charles let me go to you first uh for this year it is a distinctive Chinese totem uh the dragon or the loom as an

Increasing number of people call it as a Lex B living in China um what are your impressions of the Chinese New Year and um this very unique animal the dragon and its symbolism how do you look at it well I think the dragon year of course is quite special it’s quite a

Special year I would say that it’s even more special for me because like my very first Chinese Spring Festival celebrated in China already was celebrating the dragon year because I arrived a little bit more than 12 years ago in China in Western countries uh the dragon is not

Always well seen you know in stories in Tales in Legend you know the Knight have to go fight the dragon but the dragon always is this very smart wise animal always bringer of richness so indeed in China we see it in a in a different way

In the way I understand uh the way uh Chinese people c dragon it represent the power uh the power of the emperor in Antiquity and also luck wisdom so I think this year 2024 will be the year to make important decision and fight for our goals all right the year to make

Decisions and fight for our goals I love it Michael um what do you think I mean how do you look at the symbolism of the dragon and um to be honest what do you think this year the dragon or the lon will bring this well just like Char said I think

The dragon is the symbol of power of strength but also wisdom I think it’s the the most powerful animal of the zodiac the most significant maybe for in Chinese culture let me turn to Angela hi Angela it’s great to see you uh you are in London right now and you come from

Shandon where I come from um how would you explain the significance the importance of the Chinese New Year the Lunar New Year to your friends in Great Britain and this year in particular the Year of the Dragon um what would you tell them what this year is all about I

Guess for Chinese New Year as you know an overseas Chinese student living in abroad in a place that doesn’t normally observe the Luna New Year on a on a majority basis um this so from this vantage point it’s very interesting to see how the expat community of CH overseas Chinese students celebrate

Chinese New Year and what I call we kind of put it into a microcosm of celebrations so keeping the essence of this FES of spirit with limited resources so that can be you know a potlock dinner with home Ade meals U homemade dumplings um but then also I think we’re shouldering the

Responsibility of bringing the FES of Joy but also the rich tradition the rich history the philosophy of Chinese New Year and Chinese culture to our friends to our peers who may not celebrate the chines New Year um so I think um it’s both an intersection of culture

Diversity but also an inclusive um and upbringing Charles you are the only French teaching your native language in Shin or one of the very few should I add and you’ve been residing there for quite a number of years managing your own company and then interacting with locals teaching them the French language which

Is a beautiful Language by the way um why did you choose shinjang to start with and what potential did you see in Shin Jang so well indeed I am the only French person teaching French in Shin Jang I’m not even sure over French uh in all of

In all of shin Jong at the moment actually uh we chose Shin Jong my wife and I we open the company uh we chose Shin Jong after a market survey we of course check the potential the market potential of shin Jong and actually what we should uh clarify is that my um my

Major my master degree major about French uh teaching was actually to provide torade uh training to fulfill the needs of companies employees who are going to work with French speakers or in the French environments and so this is why after this Market survey we found out that quite quite a number of

Companies Shin Jong Shin Jong is companies uh we’re having this kind of business in Africa or in other French speaking countries and so this is how we chose Shin Jong to to establish our company very good very good and uh we know that um you are the founder of the French

House of lulumi and they provides customed French language and culture training to local companies as you just explained uh how is your company in your opinion promoting economic trade and cultural exchanges with people in French speaking countries are there any um you know interesting stories to

Tell well uh the first thing we could mention is that uh something actually very interesting because we didn’t uh we didn’t think of this but we had a lot more demand that we suspected uh we had from cering industry like bakery shop restaurants we also had sports centers

Who reached to reached us uh like for fencing fencing teachers as well as dance teachers like ballet dancing so actually there were a lot more people interested in this French training than uh we expected I think it’s my students were quite impressive most of my students are already working in do like

Engineering architecture I have had like plain Pilots I don’t know how to express this major medical studies uh even have lawyers you name it all kind of major and their major and work are so much more harder than mine as a teacher I only give them tools then to achieve

Their projects and so I like to believe that every time one of them can go abroad to work and study that thanks to the training I provide I provided them among other things of course uh it’s also strengthen uh the tith between China and those countries let’s talk about your

Company Michael that is actually providing consulancy uh Consulting Services the Asia silk CAD group to uh companies looking to enter the Chinese market of course we had this Visa free policy exemption for some seven eight European countries how do you think these policies uh will shape the year

2024 in terms of foreign investment and traveling to China this is a massive change a massive uh shift uh in the economy uh for the market for the world not just for China for the world because uh China being the the country that it is with a massive

Market um massive land mass um um massive economy so this um and this is the first time that such a change happens where people can come to China without a Visa and I think one very important thing to to note is that you know um Western people know China okay

They admire China but there’s this part of mystery regarding China because you know the country is so old with maybe 5,000 years of History so clearly it’s impossible to know everything the country is also very big very diverse okay with so many ethnicities I think it’s uh 56 Western

People don’t really know so much about China okay and this Visa free policy will change everything for the better um I have had so many people uh um contacting me in the past few weeks in the past few months because of this policy you know the increase is huge it’s plus

200% uh people contacting me in in the past few months so I think the results will be remarkable for China for the economy for tourism um uh cultural exchanges now with the 60 years anniversary the Olympics the belon road initiative everything put together will produce a huge change for the better

Let’s hope it will change for the better Angela you’re a a third year student studying in London um last time we talked uh you said explaining China to your ased friends to uh the British the Americans the Western friends you see that as your mandate um but sometimes do

You feel it is an uphill battle um of course while having fun doing it China is a vast country it has a vast um history has a long duray history um if we study China you know I do IR in history we T when we study China it’s

Always about looking back back to the roots and um so sometimes it could be a bit difficult for um people who are growing up in the western kind of environment you’re accustomed to this Enlightenment ideas um about the these so-called Universalist values and framework so sometimes it can be a bit

Hard to catch um the Chinese philosophy that its history and culture of Confucianism and dowm so whenever I chat explain these Concepts to them I think it’s making parallels with a lot of the shared understandings that we have Charles let’s talk about China France relations we’re celebrating the 60th

Anniversary our our diplomatic relations France was among the first countries in Western Europe to recognize the People’s Republic of China um how do you foresee this year going for both of our countries because we enjoy thoroughly good relations if you compare China’s relations with other Western countries

About those relations I do believe that people are everything in such relations and so it will also be our job as a French Nationals being in China or Chinese National being in France uh to I would not say advertise but just to share our stories and uh to go toward

Local people and to understand to understand better uh their their country I think our leader take decisions which of course is our hard and our job as representative of our country but to I would dare to quote Mr President she and saying that country is the people as

People of the country and so I really like this sentence because I share this opinion I really think we are representative of our own countries and so it is our job to make overs understand more about uh about us and to go toward them too to really understand

More about each other it’s that simple all right Michael in the year 24 is also the year of um China France’s year of culture and tourism um do you have any plans to leverage this opportunity perhaps to help both sides understand each other more yes of course we are

Actively working uh with my company to promote more exchanges of course we have the Olympics coming um both macro and president shining made a short speeches to introduce to start the festivities uh for the 60 years anniversary so I think we will see uh so many events and celebrations happening this year

Including with the Olympics I believe T will play a special role uh in the Olympics because of the anniversary so it’s definitely something to look forward to very good very good finally um any Lunar New Year Chinese New Year wishes for our viewers from around the world watching this program um Angela

Would I start with you yeah of course well as we stand on the the cusp of Chinese New Year I wish everyone uh who’s in your laptops or phones or tablets viewing this right now wherever you may be um a very Happy Chinese New

Year um I hope this is a time that we can you know recall the familial warmth uh togetherness and a lot of Universalist values of having Prosperity lots of wealth and happiness so Happy Chinese New Year sh very good Charles I would not have said it better than Angela inde I would only

Say Michael what about you cha everyone I wish you all the best and believe in the strength of the dragon that will make your dreams come true this year people from other countries living in in China are not just sharing their own knowledge and experience but they’re also diving deep into the traditional

Chinese culture now let’s welcome Joe Walker a German friend who’s actually studying acupuncture in China’s H PR what’s behind the passion of a young man from Europe for traditional Chinese medicine Kung Fu and calligraphy Joe Michael Walker is immensely popular on China’s short video platform doin he

Makes content in hine dialect with a twit but it’s not just a mere social media sensation Beyond his linguistic proficiency he’s also a Keem practitioner of Chinese kung fu and calligraphy and more importantly his specializes in acupuncture at Hunan University of traditional Chinese medicine in central China Joe also works

With Hunan’s cultural tourism authorities he wants to contribute to the preservation of Chinese traditional medicine and promote Chinese culture globally on social media China’s traditional culture has had a profound impact on Joe he feels that he now has a duty to share his knowledge with his friends and relatives abroad all right

Joe Welcome to our program on cgtn it’s great to see you after and seeing so many of your videos on uh doin you’re doing fantastic by the way thank you nice seeing you too so this year is special right because we’re celebrating a very unique animal or if we can call

It an animal at all or rather a totem what do you think the dragon signifies in your understanding uh it stands for all the good qualities flexibility of strength can swim in the sea it can fly in the sky and it’s amazing that you speak Chinese and it’s

Even more amazing that you speak the Hanan dialect um do you want to say anything to our viewers um on this occasion of the Lunar New Year inine dialect maybe for sure I think actually like speaking the local dialect is normal for someone if you live in a place for many

Years I would say wow that’s amazing man you also practice Chinese calligraphy and Kung Fu calligraphy is maybe more like a hobby just like something I do to keeps it helps it helps you to like to calm down your mind to get focused but yeah I I I’ve been

Practicing uh kungu since since I was maybe 11 years old I think very good and then boring with the British and German Heritage how do you think this mixed Heritage has um affected your outlook on culture and on values and then on being you know an expert living in China for

Me actually I think all humans are the same all cultures are just expressions like different expressions of our perception of this of this reality of this world yeah maybe it also has to do with my with my experience growing up with different cultural backgrounds so Joe you’re studying acupuncture um you

Know yeah what led you to choose this field in this practice uh actually my my bachelor’s uh like major was Chinese medicine actually Chinese medicine and and acupuncture they are actually the same Chinese medicine is not only medicine is also kind of philosophy it actually helps me

To understand the many concepts of this of of our world better like because uh Chinese medicine is a I would say integrated wisdom like Chinese medicine doesn’t really uh separate for example the universe our environment our society with our body and our mind like everything is is supposed to be is is

The same like is is part of the same big whole thing of course like another aspect is like the the healing effects of of Chinese medicine which are obvious so I I’ve always been interested like how can you have these treating effects without using any chemical medicine and like I think it’s green

It’s it’s cheap like like for example acupuncture you can only like with only one needle you can you can cure an ailment uh if you would use Western medicine maybe you would have to take a lot of like chemical drugs and ibuprofen and stuff um finally do you

Want to say anything any new year wishes to our viewers around the world so I hope you all have a great year of the dragon and also I think we’ve been speaking about like now the for many European countries it’s like there’s a AE free Visa policy now fifth time come

And travel to China as we’re celebrating the Lunar New Year um it’s sure thing that we’re going to eat a whole lot of food but don’t get don’t forget to do some stay at home exercises it’s simple but it can be very effective right yeah coach hat of course

Um do you want to give us some tips sure TR this try yeah squat Lune Squat and Back Again change side lunge next one okay what else can we do high knees two one go keep your hands in front Okay three two one all right then open up

We do sumo squat okay going to go down on your toes bring it back up down C Rae one more okay this one is a bit challenging yeahh yeah yes well let’s do inchworm a good workout can walk forward yeah down here and up if you want you going a push-up let’s

Do a push-up too let’s do a push-up pushup back and last one we can do apps the one bicycle kicks here okay go side to side almost single squat for very good my friend very good we’re going to eat a whole lot during the Lunar New Year lots

Of food on the table but don’t forget to work out if you can I’m catching on my breath I can’t believe it all right um so we have a complet right okay this say it what is it Kate what does it mean train together change together but um f45 team training

Life changing it’s always better with people around you yeah you get motivated the way um you yourself foring out alone could not yeah um very good uh do you want to say anything directly to our viewers watching this show on cgtn about the Lunar New Year any message to them

I’m wishing you all a Happy New Year um happy New Year of dragon and just if you have a new dreams never give up go follow um if you have New Year resolutions just make sure that you do what you promise yourself to do