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Three months have passed since we came back from China and we are now ready for our first official event!
Check out the trailer for our upcoming documentary: https://library.maastrichtuniversity.nl/two-girls-in-china/wp-content/uploads/Expedition-to-China-Trailer-.mp4 Stay tuned for more information on upcoming events and screenings in
This week autumn really has arrived. With the cold setting in, it’s difficult to remember how unbearably hot China was
The Maastricht Academy of Fine Arts will be exploring Kircher’s China Illustrata in a very different way to us this
Now that we are back in Maastricht, just Part 1 of our project has ended but much more is about
After 16 days of traveling crossing China from the eastern-most point to the western-most one we could go, we caught
We finally made it to our end destination at the edges of China, the marvelous city of Lhasa! On their
The 31st of July 1661, our two brave Jesuits left Xining and head towards Lhasa traveling for three months trough
Gruber and Dorville report arriving in the city of Sining, today named Xining, after two months after they had left
Gruber and Dorville report crossing the Yellow River two times in their trip trough China, however they do not mention
The Desert: Over the course of several months, the Jesuits crossed an area of the Gobi Desert (which Kircher refers
Today, we explored the Gao Miao Temple in Zhongwei. Over time, this temple has catered to Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism.
Loyally following the route taken by Grueber and d’Orville, we are now crossing the remote and rural parts of the
Since we started traveling we have seen pagodas of all shapes and sizes almost everywhere. Kircher also noticed the numerous “towers”,
We left our beloved Mongolia on a night train and headed towards the province of Ningxia. We arrived in the city
On their way back to Europe through China, our favourite Jesuits, Grueber and d’Orville had to cross the limitless plateaux of grasslands in
It’s one week into our trip and we are leaving the heat and sweaty streets of Beijing and Datong for
According to a description of Kircher, in a book previous to the China Illustrata, European bells, especially the Erford one
Today we went to explore some of the mountains of Northern China! Kircher talks about how the Chinese study and
Yesterday night we left Beijing on a night train and this morning we arrived in Datong in the current Shanxi
One of the greatest evidence of the presence of the missionaries in China is their cemetery; the Zhalan cemetery. The
Today we went to visit the Imperial City, in the center of Beijing. The Imperial City, or Forbidden City, used
Today we conquered the Great Wall of China! Well, at least one small section of it. Mutianyu is one of
Today was packed full of exploring the city and attempting to find the remnants of the Jesuits who came here
We got here as the sun set since it took us a whole day to reach St. Joseph’s Church, known
Our first day in Beijing was hot, sweaty and different from what you would expected from European capitals. Even though
At 8 am tomorrow our flights leave! After all the preparation, we are now ready to put ourselves in the
Before we leave for such a research expedition, it is important that we are knowledgeable about the topic that we
Jesuit travelers who arrived in China from Europe were never left alone to their faith. In fact, the Jesuit order
Learn some more about Mandarin from Su Li, one of the teachers from the Maastricht Language Centre. After a week
China is not an easy country to travel for someone who does not know the language. You cannot just arrive
Here we are, less than a week left and then off we go! And so the time to pack has arrived…
Nǐ hǎo! Mandarin isn’t an easy language to learn usually, but with help from the Language Centre we will learn
Who said traveling is easier today? Queuing now at the Visa Application Center with a folder full of documents and forms
Here is the headquarters of the Jesuits’ order in the eternal city! It was within these walls that Kircher wrote the
Our tickets to Beijing cost us a few hundred euros, ten minutes of our time and a couple of mouse
Dutch Jesuits traveled far and wide across not only China, but South America, Africa, Japan, North America and others, and
It is four weeks until we pack our bags, wave goodbye to Europe and begin our month in China. Already