Part of Intern China's programme is to arrange regular get-togethers and cultural activities, which are organised spontaneously by Intern China's staff and have become the source of many memorable stories for interns over the past few years. We do not profit from organising get-togethers and activities; their sole purpose is to give our interns some added insight into life and customs in China and to simply get everybody together to have a good time. The best place to read about these activites is on our blog, which is regularly updated. We are always thinking of new activities and excursions to do and repeating old ones which have been a success. Here is a sample of the activities, excursions and events we have organised in the past:

Chinese Cooking Classes: Everyone knows that Chinese food is famously delicious. Take our word for it, this is completely true here in China! Many of our interns experience the best kind of Chinese food when staying in a homestay; home cooking. However to give all of our interns an insight into how the food is cooked, we arranged a cooking class. There is a shiny new kitchen room, everybody has their own stove and utensils in order to cook some of China's most renowned dishes, such as ‘tang cu li ji', ‘suan la tang’, or ‘yu xiang rou si’. Put an apron on and get ready to cook some tasty Chinese food! The best part (hopefully...) is to taste the food which you made yourself at the end!

Chinese Wine Tasting: Wine is becoming more and more popular in China; both that imported from more traditional wine-producing countries such as Italy and France, as well as a burgeoning new trend for domestically produced wine. Shandong, the province where Qingdao is found, is home to some of China's most well known up-and-coming vineyards. Intern China has been organising trips to nearby Yantai to tour the area and do some tastings, to check out what the fuss is about.

Traditional Chinese Tea Ceremony: China is famous for its tea. As well as green tea, there are a lot of different kinds which are traded all over China and can be sampled in Qingdao and Zhuhai's numerous tea houses, for example; Jasmine, Oulong, Chrysanthemum, Pu er and Tie guanyin. Intern China has arranged tea ceremonies where interns can sample different kinds of tea and learn about the many rituals involved with sampling tea in China.

Traditional Chinese Art: Calligraphy is the traditional Chinese way of producing beautiful and elegant handwriting. It is very much like painting a portrait. We organise classes to discover the evolution of writing styles, development of the language and rules of technique. Calligraphy and traditional Chinese painting are traditionally ways to communicate the spiritual world of the artist. Before the invention of the printing press some 500 years ago, it was the way books were made. Each copy was handwritten by a scribe working in a scriptorium. With a history of 4000-5000 years, Chinese calligraphy is an ancient and profound art and has attracted the attention of artists from all over the world. During the calligraphy lesson, you will first learn an introduction: A brief overview of calligraphy and the different styles. Afterwards you will be taught how to hold and use the brush, which is actually quite a challenge! After these first steps, get some ink and try to write Chinese characters! We will prepare everything you need for your calligraphy lesson, special paper (calligraphy should be done on a special paper in order that the Chinese characters look and work well) - and of course an experienced teacher. Similar to 

things. Chinese painting and paper cutting are two of the three essences of traditional culture and Intern China can arrange classes for you.

Chinese massage: Chinese massage was originally created by people that were injured in ancient times; at that time people discovered massage as a good way to aid recovery. Therapeutic massage is referred to as 'Tuina' in modern Chinese, which literally means 'pushing (and) grasping'. However, this term did not occur in Chinese literature until the Ming dynasty (1368-1644) where it first appeared as ‘Tuina' on a pediatric book. Chinese massage can improve the circulation and increases the blood flow and brings fresh oxygen to body parts. Nowadays, Chinese massage includes: traditional massage, fire massage, foot massage, head and neck massage, acupuncture etc. Get ready to relax your whole body and be cured by Chinese traditional massage!