BNU offers Tai Chi statue to celebrate NTNU's 67th anniversary
It's normal to see people practicing the martial arts in parks across Taipei, but now students at National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU) will be ale to see the elegance of Tai Chi (太極拳) moves on their way to class, thanks to a 2.5-meter-tall statue gifted to the school by Beijing Normal University (BNU) in mainland China.
The two universities have been working together to promote an academic approach to studying Tai Chi since 1994. The impressive gold-colored statue depicts a man in the middle of one of Tai Chi's characteristic slow, measured movements. It was displayed on the BNU campus during the Beijing Summer Olympics in 2008 before eventually finding a new home at NTNU.
The Tai Chi statue was unveiled following a ceremony recognizing some of NTNU's accomplished alumni and celebrating the school's anniversray. NTNU President Chang Kuo-en (張國恩) and other school officials met with BNU's Vice President Zhang Yan (張彥) and other representatives, in a ceremony which closed with a Tai Chi performance by students from universities across Taiwan and mainland China.
President Chang thanked BNU for the gift and pledged to continue inter-university efforts to promote academic study of the popular martial art.