Projects Abroad, Newsletters from China

Andy Warhol will revisit China for the first time since his historic trip in 1982, this time in an exhibition of photographs by his personal photographer at the time Christopher Makos. Titled 'Andy Warhol in China,' the exhibition will make its world debut at Timezone 8's two venues in China ( Beijing 798 and Shanghai M50) Saturday May 17, 2008 where it will continue to be shown through the Beijing Summer Olympics.

The sixth annual Art Shanghai exhibition will display works from 25 international and 70 domestic art institutions. The works are based on the four themes of experimentalism, modernism, futurism and traditionalism. The exhibition will feature prominent international and domestic artists as well as many young artists. Encompassing a wide range of mediums including oil painting, sculpture, photography, prints, Chinese painting and more, Art Shanghai is a wonderful opportunity for art enthusiasts, collectors and the general public to enjoy a collection of some of the world's finest art.

Projects Abroad took all its volunteers bowling in Shanghai last month. As there are a lot of new people it was a great way for them to all get introduced to each other and a great activity for everyone to get to know each other. This was company director Kay’s second time bowling and she definitely gave her team a run for their money.

The Terracotta Army or Terracotta Warriors and Horses is a collection of 8,099 terracotta figures of warriors and horses located near the Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor.The figures vary in height according to their rank; the tallest being the Generals.The heights range is 184-197 cm (6ft-6ft 5in), or more than a full foot taller than the average soldier of the period.The figures were discovered in 1974 near Xi'an.

The Great Wall is one of the largest building-construction projects ever carried out, it runs about 7,300 km east to west from the Bo Hai to a point deep in Central Asia. Large parts of the fortification date from the 7th to the 4th century BC. In the 3rd century BC the emperor Shihuangdi (the Qin Dynasty)connected existing defensive walls into a single system fortified by watchtowers. These served both to guard the rampart and to communicate with the capital, Xianyang (near the modern city of Xi'an, the capital of Shangxi Province) by signal — smoke by day and fire by night. Originally constructed partly of masonry and earth, it was faced with brick in its eastern portion.

The traditional East Asian calendars divide a year into 24 solar terms. The Dongzhi Festival or Winter Solstice (literally means arrival of winter) Festival is one of the most important festivals celebrated by the Chinese and other East Asians during the Dongzhi solar term on or around December 22 when sunshine is weakest and daylight shortest. The sun is at the Tropic of Capricorn and this results in the longest night of the year for those living in the northern hemisphere. It is the thanksgiving of the Chinese calendar and occurs 6 weeks before Chinese New Year (Spring Festival).

Last month the volunteers took a trip to Century Park in Shanghai for a chilled afternoon picnic. Century Park is one of the largest parks in Shanghai. It charges a small fee because of what it has to offer. When you get into the park there is plenty to do whether it be taking a boat ride on the river boats inside the park, visiting the gardens or fishing in the lake.

My best experience from work has been my friendship with one of my Chinese co-workers. When I came to Shanghai, it was my goal to make Chinese friends. The biggest frustration about being here has been not being able to communicate with very many people as I don’t speak Mandarin and only a very small percentage of the population speaks English. It has been very beneficial to have this friendship, as she was able to take me around to different areas of town and show me sights that I would not see otherwise...

The Chinese (Scholar's) Garden is a place for solitary or social contemplation of nature. To be considered authentic, a garden must be built and planned around seventeen essential elements...