Economics graduate Toby Buist visited China this summer as part of a British Council initiative to introduce future leaders from Britain and China to each other’s countries and cultures. These are his thoughts on his return.

“Dengfeng, a small town in the Songshan mountain range is home to hundreds of kung fu schools and thousands of diligent pupils of the ancient art. The sight of them marching through the streets was inspirational.”

“This summer I was one of a lucky 100 UK future leaders to be selected to spend ten days in China learning more about Chinese culture and strengthening diplomatic ties between the two nations. The final delegation of four cohorts of young Britons travelling to China had the theme of ‘Environment and Healthy Living’.

“The programme was jam-packed, visiting three major cities and a couple of small towns. Whilst this restricted my inquisitive urges to head off the beaten track and dig deep into a less mainstream China, we saw some truly impressive sights. The itinerary included visits to the Shanghai Expo, Yuntai mountain, the Shaolin temple, the forbidden city and Tiananmen Square to name a few.

“My subgroup concentrated more on healthy living. As we passed through Shanghai at night one delegate retorted “Seeing all these lights makes me wonder if our energy saving efforts back home will make any difference”. We saw very little blue sky in our time in China due to the thick shroud of smog, so despite temperatures of up to 40 degrees, sun cream was never needed!

“Healthy living efforts seemed more muted in the vast metropolises of Shanghai and Beijing, with exercise seemingly limited to older generations practising early morning Tai Chi and dancing in the inner-city parks and at community centres. In Henan province we visited the original ‘Taijiquan’ (Tai Chi boxing) school, where the whole town, young and old seemed infatuated with the art. Dengfeng, a small town in the Songshan mountain range is home to hundreds of kung fu schools and thousands of diligent pupils of the ancient art. The sight of them marching through the streets was inspirational.

“My lasting impression of China is that, whilst it continues to grapple with problems such as poverty and environmental issues, it has certainly earned its dynamic reputation. The sheer scale of the Shanghai Expo exhibits what the Chinese are capable of. China is a wonderfully different and inspiring place and I will certainly be going back to discover more.”