Footprints

“I can make my brush travel thousands of miles, or within spitting distance. It’s all in my brushstrokes.” Says 86-year-old Fan Zeng, a contemporary master of traditional Chinese ink and wash painting whose works have received critical acclaim globally. Combining Chinese free-hand ink spattering style with western realistic painting techniques, Fan Zeng weaves aesthetic harmony with his brushstrokes.

​This year marks the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and France. Over the past six decades, people from the two countries have developed profound friendship and conducted fruitful cultural exchanges. One of the examples is Xu Rong, who has been promoting a traditional Chinese martial art called Tai Chi in France for nearly 20 years. But what really is Tai Chi? And how has this Chinese woman been promoting it among people who previously knew nothing about it? Join this edition of Footprints to find out.

Face changing is an important feature of Sichuan Opera, one of China's oldest regional operas. It is the art of changing vividly colored masks on an opera performer’s face within a split of a second, multiple times. If it’s magical to see how they do it in lightning speed, it becomes unimaginable to see puppets and their puppeteers do face changing at the same time on stage. But to retired Chengdu rod puppet performing artist Wei Zuochun, it’s just something she has always done.

A group of students from University of Virginia, the United States, visited China on a tour of youth exchanges and sports diplomacy in January 2024. Playing ping-pong (table tennis) games with their Chinese counterparts, visiting the Great Wall, and watching Peking Opera, the students are seen as re-enacting the historic 1971 Ping-Pong Diplomacy between China and the United States. Follow Footprints’ reporter Yushan and hear what these U.S. students have to say about their experiences in China.

Forty-nine year-old Zhang Jianna is part of the refuse collection crews working in the bustling embassy area of Beijing. The sanitation worker shot to fame as she turns mundane moments in her work into opportunities for kindness and inspiration. But what has she actually done to make her stand out? Join this edition of Footprints to find out.

​Cen Feng, a veteran railway engineer, is building the world’s longest-span cross-sea dual-use bridge, which will be able to carry both high-speed trains and road vehicles. Being head of the project’s building team, Cen shoulders huge responsibility as the project involves massive engineering complexities and challenges. Over the past 12 months, he and his fellow builders have made steady progress with the project thanks to their diligence, perseverance and creativity.

The Chime Bells of Marquis Yi, a set of well-tuned carillon of sixty-five bronze bells unearthed in today’s Hubei province, is considered one of the most astonishing archaeological discoveries in recent history. How does this ancient instrument sound like? And how does it feel to play the 2,400-year-old giant musical instrument? As one of very few who had played music on the famed chime bells, Tan Jun knows the answers to all these questions.

22-year-old Cen Huaxiu is a fourth-year Vietnamese undergraduate student. She is presently studying Chinese at Zhejiang University, but her interest extends beyond the language. Growing up immersed in traditional Chinese cartoons and stories, Cen Huaxiu is profoundly drawn to Chinese culture and intends to pursue her dream of establishing a career in China while fostering friendships that transcend borders.

​For nearly two decades, Chen Zhenghua has been riding on a wave of the boom of Chinese online literature, which includes fantasy novels, sci-fi, history, and other kinds of writings. His signature online novel Sword Snow Stride, which has been adapted into various cultural products, has brought him fame and fortune. Now having succeeded with domestic readers, Chen intends to bring his novels to the global market and he is confident international readers will also be drawn to the distinct contents of Chinese online literature.

“My mom and dad are guardians of the earth!” Says Hu Jiaojiao's 4-year-old daughter. Both Hu and her husband are Chinese explorers and glacier researchers who are invited to the 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference, or COP28, to share their experiences about glacier conservation in China. As an environmentalist and a mother, Hu Jiaojiao calls for people to cultivate a love for Nature in the next generation.