China Tries To Woo A Sprawling Global Chinese Diaspora
"Salute! Embrace the moon! White clouds float overhead! Step forward and push with palm!"
A coach barks out these martial arts moves in an auditorium at a private school in Taishan, a city in southern China's Guangdong province.
Two parallel rows of students kick, block and punch in sync with the commands.
One row comprises students enrolled at the school. The other is made up mostly of visiting ethnic Chinese kids from Boston, New York, San Francisco and other U.S. cities. Many are descendants of emigrants from Taishan, one of the biggest and earliest sources of a Chinese diaspora that officials estimate is 60 million strong.
The kung fu class is part of a "trace your roots" tour organized by a Taishan government department in charge of diaspora affairs. The tour is intended to help the kids understand the culture
