I love introducing Sino-Immersions' clients to the rich history of east-west cultural exchange that is present all around us. During our tours this cross-cultural interaction may be more obvious in visits to places like a museum for silk embroideries or a city wall or an ancient observatory, for instance, but it is also present in every day objects like a bowl or more mannered objects like a Chinese scroll. I was recently visiting Boston and friends at Catholic Memorial Schoo

Every dawn, on the northern side of Tiananmen Square, between the Monument to the People's Heroes and Mao Zedong's portrait gazing out across the Avenue of Eternal Peace, China's national flag is raised over the gathered throng. On the day we were there recently, as part of Sino-Immersions Ignatian Pilgrimage Through China, we joined around 15,000 other early risers to witness this great show of national pride. At dusk, the flag is also lowered to great ceremony, but the late

Suzhou is a city still crisscrossed by creeks and canals, including the famous Grand Canal. During the imperial period this was a major conduit for the transportation of goods and food from the rich south to the northern capital. The presence of the Grand Canal in one’s city meant that riches flowed through it, both in terms of material goods and also in the presence of the many people drawn to the bright lights. This included European merchants and missionaries, and it was a