China Folk House Retreat

2023 was a breakthrough year for China Folk House, with more experiential learning, cultural exchanges, community engagement and lots of building progress. Generous donations from the Dao Feng and Angela Foundation, Dalio Philanthropies, the Bedrock Foundation, and many grassroots supporters enabled us to complete three bunkhouses, a commercial kitchen, and a code-compliant stairway that readies the house for inspection! Our garden grant funded a 3,200 square-foot flagstone courtyard, raised beds showcasing Chinese plants, improved health and accessibility of the surrounding forest, our organic vegetable garden, and a new ethnobotany teaching garden. Thanks to the dedicated summer campers and community volunteers who built out this essential infrastructure. The CFH 2023 Summer Program had 92 high school student enrollments over six weeks, including four students from China. Craft masters from the Timber Framer Guild taught student apprentices the art of "joining" timbers for two new bunkhouses! Students had Chinese language classes coordinated with building projects and China-related craft and game activities, with weekly square dances, hikes, and canoeing. Graduate interns (Columbia, University of Virginia, Ohio State) shared their research for the China Folk House Museum. China Folk House hosted more people-to-people cultural exchanges in 2023. In May, CFH and Kunming University of Science and Technology hosted an exhibition on "Traditions of Architecture in Yunnan China" - now part of our museum and showed "The Six" about Chinese survivors of the Titanic with filmmaker Steven Schwankert. During the summer, documentary filmmaker Carma Hinton gave a talk to students, and CFH held its inaugural "Folk Fusion Concert" with yangqin master Chao Tian performing with bluegrass musicians. The fall highlight was an uplifting talk by renowned Chinese environmentalist Dai Qing. Our visitor numbers increased dramatically in 2023, with drop-ins on most days and community groups nearly every weekend. More than twenty schools and civic organizations held daytrips and overnight stays last year, making China Folk House a popular new destination for cross-cultural experiential learning in the DMV.