Dear international scholars and foreign teachers,

Spring greetings from the International Office!Spring in Guangzhou is usually humid, but still full of vitality, and also a good season to go for an outing. We are cordially sending you this invitation for a one-day cultural tour of Foshan, an ancient city with over 1,000 years of history, and an important cradle for southern Chinese culture.

Foshan is one of the places of origin of Cantonese Cuisine and Opera, as well as being a capital of Chinese pottery. It boasts a number of prominent figures in Chinese history: Kang Youwei, the leading revolutionist of China’s Hundred Days’ Reform, which was a failed capitalist reform that occurred in the late Qing Dynasty (1898); Zhan Tianyou, Father of China’s Railway; Bruce Lee, the world-renowned Chinese Kungfu master, etc.

This tour will present to you a full cultural exploration of Foshan, with the following three attractions that you will never regret visiting:

Foshan Ancestral Temple

The Ancestral Temple, as the totem of the Foshan people, has been used by locals for over a thousand years as a place of worship. Even now, when they hold awedding ceremony, Foshan people will firstgo to the Temple to pay tributebefore enjoying the traditional wedding feastInside the Temple, the nation’slargest Beidi (God of the North in China’s Taoist culture) Bronze Statue is enshrined. Here you can also find China’s largest wooden Cantonese Opera pavilion, still in good condition, but more than anything you’ll feel the long-cherished uniqueness of Foshan history.

Huang Feihong Museum (Lion Dance Show)

In memorial of Huang Feihong, China’s representative Kungfu master at the turn of the 20th century, the Museum was built to present his life achievements, as well as art works and relics originating from him. Moreover, as part of the Kungfu performance, the lion dance show will be demonstrated; a long-inherited tradition of Chinese people to show their happiness and joy during major festivals.

Ancient Nanfeng Kiln (Pottery DIY)

In China, Foshan is reputed as the capital of pottery, and the Ancient Nanfeng Kiln is the must-go place if you would like toget a feel for genuine pottery culture. The pottery making there still follows the old craft of 500 years ago, and for hundreds of years the Kiln has been ceaselessly producing pottery artwork; a feat for which it earned a place in the Guinness Book of Records. As part of your visit, you’ll have the chance to enjoy theexperienceof pottery DIY and produce your very own works.

The tour is initially arranged for April 8, Saturday. If you would like to join us for this exploration, please do not hesitate to sign up! We would appreciate it if you could reply to this email before this Friday, March 24.

We look forward to seeing you during the tour. Detailed schedule information will be provided later. Thank you very much!

International Scholars Office

South China University of Technology