Second European tai chi center kicks into gear

Following the addition of taiji, or tai chi, to UNESCO's intangible cultural heritage list, the Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine’s Taiji Health Center opened a new branch in Barcelona, Spain.

It's the second overseas branch established by the center. The first was opened in September 2018 at the University of Western Attica in Athens, Greece.

Xu Jianguang, president of the university, licensed the Barcelona branch via an online ceremony, which was attended by employees of the university and the new center, medical industry insiders and tai chi students. The facility is a joint program between the university and the European Foundation of Traditional Chinese Medicine.

“The new center is the second stop on the European continent for the ancient Chinese health philosophy,” said Xu. “Via the new facility, we would also like to share more experiences related to fighting the pandemic.”

Ramon Maria Calduch, vice president of the European Foundation of Traditional Chinese Medicine and director of the branch, thanked the Taiji Health Center for sharing Chinese-English videos of traditional Chinese health preservation practices with the rest of the world after the COVID-19 outbreak.

He said the Barcelona branch will serve as a base to promote tai chi in Spanish-speaking countries.

Zhang Qi, director of the World Health Organization’s department for traditional, complementary and integrative medicine, said he hopes the new branch plays an important role in promoting exchanges, traditional Chinese medicine and tai chi.