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Inside the well-lit hall of a private school in the suburbs of Beijing, a sea of yellow T-shirts filled all the seats.
But when the amplifiers belted songs that usually accompany kung fu movies, the crowd could no longer stay seated. They wanted to stand to catch a glimpse of what was happening on the stage.
They were young people from different parts of the world, but they were of the same color, as their yellow T-shirts suggested.
A showcase of wushu (martial arts) and Chinese folk dancing performed by children their age had caught their attention and was the main reason the audience had gathered in this temporary Tower of Babel.
There was no language barrier since most of the audience could speak putonghua (mandarin), though not fluently.
In search of Chinese traditional excellence, more than 800 young Chinese from nearly 20 countries in Asia, America, Europe and Oceania participated in a one-week Root-seeking Summer Camp from August 3 to 10.
It was organized by the Office of Overseas Chinese Affairs of the State Council.
The Root-seeking Summer Camp debuted in 1999 and has become an annual event to attract overseas Chinese children to visit China.
After the opening ceremony presenting wushu and folk dancing, half of the students dispersed to different cities in China in search of their roots. The other half stayed in the Huijia Private College in the northern suburbs of Beijing.
This year, wushu, better known as martial arts and Chinese folk dancing, were the highlight of the camp. Those who remained in Huijia spent most of their time learning the basic skills of the two arts.
It has been the fashion in recent decades for overseas Chinese parents to send their children back to China. Root-searching is a major part of their visit.
"I hope my boy can learn to appreciate Chinese traditions and values by joining this summer camp," said Wu Zi Wei, who has been living in the United States for 12 years and now teaching at the University of California.
Wu was one of the parents who accompanied their children to China during the summer camp.
As a disciple of wushu himself, Wu also teaches students wushu back at his university. But he wanted his son to learn in China.
"Some of the US-born Chinese cannot understand what the Chinese culture stands for," Wu said.
While he conceded that Americanization is inevitable when Chinese children grow up in Western culture, Wu insisted that his two children must have some grasp of the Chinese culture.
His 20-year-old daughter is now learning Chinese dancing, and his 16-year-old son is learning wushu.
"It is fine for them to get acquainted with US culture," he said. "But unlike popular culture, traditional culture is something that will never be replaced. It's only when you have a firm grasp of your own culture and know how to be respectful that you can gain respect from other people."
Sightseeing is a way to absorb the richness of Chinese history. But as Cai Geng Zhang, founder of the Calgary T'ai Chi and Martial Arts College in Alberta, Canada, said, followers learn Chinese values by practicing wushu.
"Students can learn the importance of discipline and how to honor their teachers and respect other people," Cai said. "wushu is also something that needs diligence. So it is usually very hard for foreigners not familiar with the Chinese mentality."
Cai brought a team of students with him to the summer camp to receive more intensive training since most of the children can only spare an hour a week learning wushu in Calgary.
Thanks to kung fu stars like Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan and Oscar-winning movies like "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," many people worldwide have fallen under the spell of wushu.
Although not many people fully understand the philosophy and virtues behind this Chinese art, Wu said it is a gateway to Chinese culture for foreigners and the overseas Chinese youths.
"It would be difficult for foreigners and overseas-born Chinese to learn Chinese culture from books since most of them cannot read Chinese characters," Wu said. "But they can directly learn wushu by moving their bodies, and then the values behind wushu by practicing it."
But not all of the wushu pupils in the camp were inspired by the movies.
Lee Ying Shen has been learning wushu for three years and decided to attend the summer camp since China is the "origin of wushu."
"I began practicing wushu because I used to be weak and wanted to improve my health." The 19-year-old Hong Kong-born Canadian now regards it as an "art-form."
Chen Yu Jie is a student from the University of California, Los Angeles, and is going to study Chinese language and history at Peking University for six months starting in September.
"I want to learn putonghua and more about China because I am Chinese," Chen said. "Since I am now studying business, knowledge about China would be helpful."
Apart from all the drills, the participants had two days to travel around the famous heritages and modern commercial areas in China's capital.
Since this was the first trip to China for most of the participants, teenagers like Lee and their parents circled around the tour guides and listened.
At the farewell party, the children were busy signing their names on each other's T-shirt and taking pictures. A few of them had to wipe their tears.
Most of the children are too young to know what "root-seeking" means and find it difficult to answer questions such as, "How do you like China?"
But a trip to China makes a difference nonetheless because the young overseas Chinese can at least make friends and get some idea of what China is like.
(China Daily August 15, 2002)
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