Sino-western cultural exchange envoy Rose Oliver: Traditional Chinese culture adds special glamour to the city

Rose came to Shanghai in August 2000 with some understanding of China and Chinese culture already under her belt. Rose once had a back injury when she was a teenager heavily involved in ballet and gymnastics. This back injury had led Rose to Tai Chi, Traditional Chinese Medicine and her American Tai Chi instructor and late husband, Rey Nelson, with whom she founded a Tai Chi school (The Eastern Tai-Chi and Internal Arts Research Association) in the UK in 1992. When she came to Shanghai to seek further Tai Chi study, she already knew some teachers that she had previously invited to the UK to teach Tai Chi for their students and people around the UK. She has studied with both the Yang and Wu Family Tai Chi masters since she came.

Having lived in Shanghai for the past 18 years, Rose Oliver has become deeply rooted in her life in Shanghai and China and has seen many changes. "The transportation services were different from now. The end station of Line 1 was Shanghai Railway station and there were only three lines that were in existence, which were Line 1, Line 2 and Line 3. Line 4 was still under construction,” recalled Rose, who lived in the Caoyang area in Putuo District back then. “Now the transportation is more convenient and Shanghai has been able to grow and expand because of the train lines. At that time there was a sense that something was changing and growing."

Rose also observed some changes about people. "When I first came, there were still a lot of people who did not know many foreigners or overseas and international citizens. For  a lot of people, it was new to see westerners. So when I used to go to the local park, I was sort of a novelty because they didn’t see many foreigners practicing Tai Chi in the park. You gathered a crowd quite often. People are now more international, cosmopolitan and have international experience themselves."

Love for Chinese Culture makes her a cultural exchange envoy

Differently from many foreigners who come to Shanghai mainly to make money or simply make a living, Rose came here out of her love for Tai Chi, martial arts and Chinese culture. She cherishes Tai Chi as far more than a therapy for the recovery of her back injury and has actually fallen in love with it since her recovery. Moreover, she has developed a great understanding about Zhuangzi Philosophies such as “Use a soft approach to subdue a tough opponent” from the practice of Tai Chi pushing hands. Her love for Tai Chi has also been extended to other Chinese treatments such as acupuncture and Tuina massage as well as Taoist philosophies like "Being one with nature".