July 2002 I travelled to China with about 30 other qigong students and instructors on Professor Chen Hui-xian's biannual China Qigong Study Trip. 2002's trip began with a week of study and touring in Beijing, and continued with two weeks of touring in Luoyang, Xi'an, Chengdu, Kunming, DaLi, LiJiang, Jianchuan, Xiashankou and Shanghai. In Beijing our instructors were Master Ma, Cheng-kai; Dr. Li, Shan-yu; Dr. Li, Jian-ming; Master Wang, Zhe-Zhong; Master Wang, Jie; Dr. Lin, Qing-quan; Professor Yu, Xiao-fei; and Master Zhang, Yu-lei. Under their care we deepened our understanding of the theory and practice of Super Energy Method, Turtle Longevity Qigong, Soaring Crane Qigong, and Classical Feng Shui, in addition to studying Daoist history and philosophy and Dr. Li Shan-yu's Digit Therapy. We also received a lot of informal instruction in Mandarin! I am still absorbing the teachings of that trip and look forward to returning in 2004.

While in China I shot 36 rolls of 36 exposure Fuji Provia film. On this page you will find a few highlights of the trip. I have excluded most of my photos of famous landmarks and historic sites, as images of these places are widely available to view on the internet. These include: The Forbidden City, Yong He Gong, Beijing Drum Tower, Beijing's Hutongs, Long Men Grottoes, Shaolin Temple, The Terracotta Warrior Museum, and Kunming's Stone Forest.

Photos were taken July 2002, by Kris Caldwell unless otherwise noted.

If you have just scrolled down from reading my comments on my first visit to China in 2002, I can continue by telling you I did not return to China until 2005. I then went again in 2006, both trips just over two weeks and focused on continuing studies in Beijing with Master Wang Zhe-Zhong and Professor Yu Xiao-fei. (In 2005 I also got to see and study with Master Zhang Yu-Lei for the second time, for which I am grateful because to be with him, as my other teachers in Beijing, is always a precious opportunity.) These studies were under Professor Chen Huixian's guidance, although not part of her annual study trip. Because I knew the '05 and '06 trips were going to be shorter and focused mainly on study time, I didn't even take my camera.

In 2007 I participated in Professor Chen's annual study trip for the second time. Knowing that her qigong tours of China are filled with photo opportunities, I pulled out my dad's old Minolta again. (I know we are fully entrenched in digital age, but there is still something satisfying to me about images captured with film rather than pixels.) This time I only shot 12 rolls of the Fuji Provia, but I hope you will enjoy some of the results.

The curriculum this year included an exploration of Buddhism's Heart Sutra with Pure Land Buddhist Master Wu Jikai; an illumination of the dense language of the Dao De Jing with Professor Yu Xiaofei; and a very energetic expansion of our studies of Super Energy Method ("Clapping Hands Qigong") with its originator, Master Ma Cheng-kai.

Professor Chen's itinerary included travel to the Simatai section of the Great Wall; Chengde; Beijing; Chengdu's Mt. Qingcheng (Daoist) and Mt. Emei (Buddhist), and Chengdu itself; the legendary Guilin; and Shanghai. While in China, this time for five weeks, I also took a long-anticipated side trip prior to the beginning of Prof. Chen's tour: an overnight train to Xi'an. In addition to visiting Xi'an's Temple of the Eight Immortals, the main purpose of this trip was to visit Louguantai, the Daoist observatory-temple where Laozi wrote the Dao De Jing (about an hour and a half outside the city). I then flew back to Beijing to join Professor Chen's tour group for the itinerary and studies noted above. At the conclusion of the tour, I flew back to Beijing from Shanghai where, in addition to further studies with Master Wang Zhezhong, I found time to make a third visit to Bai Yun Guan (White Cloud Temple).

For information on Professor Chen's annual Qigong Study Trip to China, please visit her web site at http://www.wisdomandpeace.com.

Photos were taken 2007, by Kris Caldwell unless otherwise noted.