Northstar

NOV-DEC 2017 37 meetings & conventions • mcmag-asia.com Experience Traditional Chinese Medicine Groups focusing on wellness can arrange a visit to the 140-year-old Hu Qing Yu Tang, a traditional drugstore and the only museum of Traditional Chinese Medicine in China. Here, expert practitioners engage delegates in learning how to diagnose patients; participants can even practise reading each others' pulses. Participants can also sample a medicinal meal prepared according to Chinese herbology and wellness principles. Words Brooke Thio Team-building players get creative with a repertoire of experiences. Visit the Wetlands Hangzhou's Xixi National Wetland Park is famous for its rich heritage comprising southern Chinese opera, silk production, dragon boating, and persimmon cultivation. Besides exploring the sights by foot, groups can work up a sweat and push their limits with a dragon boating tournament before tucking in to a meal of locally caught fish at Yanshui Fishing Village, an original village in the wetlands. The power of one Above: The Grand Canal in Hangzhou; Below: The Qiantang River at night Cruise the Grand Canal The Hangzhou section of the Grand Canal is perhaps the most vibrant, as this ancient man-made waterway is still heavily used for the transportation of coal and construction materials to the Yangtze delta. On a dinner cruise, groups can enjoy traditional "boat food", which is based on Hangzhou cuisine, while taking in landmarks like the Imperial Dock, Xiang ji Temple, and Gongshen Bridge as the canal lights up at night. Learn about Longjing Tea A team-building opportunity awaits at Long jing village, the home of world-renowned Long jing green tea. While learning about the history of tea processing and harvesting, groups will compete to hand-pick the best tea leaves, then observe a live pan-roasting and processing of the tea. A tea-tasting session will impart tips on how to evaluate the flavours and quality of Long jing tea.

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