Shanghai and Taiwan cultural exchanges take shape

Taiji performances by students and senior citizens in Shanghai and Taiwan were staged in Minhang District on Friday, beginning a monthlong series of exchanges across the Taiwan Strait.

Taiji, a centuries-old Chinese martial art and now a form of exercise inscribed on the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, is a popular cross-Strait exchange.

The performances included different styles of taiji boxing, such as Yang-style taiji and Chen-style, and other ways of exercises integrating taiji and instruments, such as swords and fans.

The performers included not only senior citizens from across the Strait but also young students from local schools, such as Shanghai Taiwanese Children School, Xindu Experimental Middle School Affiliated to Qibao High School and East China Normal University.

According to the Minhang District Taiwan Affairs Office, more activities will be launched throughout June to promote exchanges between the district and Taiwan on themes including economic exchanges, cultural inheritance, innovation and development as well as services for Taiwan enterprises.

There will be a bike-riding event for young people, a salon for sharing resources at industrial parks, a forum on youth innovation and Taiwan-style bazaars in communities.