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A journey back to Jeanee’s ancestral roots: a future Centre site?

Jeanee的寻根之旅: 喜林苑新址“剧透”

Over one hundred years ago, Jeanee’s ancestors emigrated to the United States. Their ancestral homes still remain nestled in the verdant rice fields 100 miles west of Guangzhou (Canton). Many of the early Chinese immigrants sent back pictures of the unique buildings they saw overseas along with the money they saved. Their relatives built homes in the styles of these photos, creating a unique blend of Western and Chinese architecture known in Chinese as the Diaolou- the watchtowers.

一百多年以前，Jeanee的祖辈们从广东举家迁徙至美国。他们的祖宅至今还坐落在广州城外，向西约160公里处的一片苍翠稻田中。那时的许多华侨，他们总会给仍在国家人寄回他们在旧金山或是纽约看到的独特建筑，同时随信附上他们在外辛苦打拼积攒的金钱。这些早期华侨的亲属们在看了照片之后，便开始仿照着图片上的风格，在家乡盖起了新房子，创造出了一种融合了中国与西方建筑艺术的独特建筑形式——碉楼。

For the past five years, we have been discussing the potential restoration and repurposing of some of these UNESCO World Heritage Site structures with the regional governments. We have visited hundreds of potential sites and have identified a village of 30 empty structures located less than one kilometer from Jeanee’s great grandfather’s birthplace that may serve as a future Linden Centre destination.

Last week, we visited the region again to discuss some of the final development ideas. We will keep everyone informed of the progress of this important friendship project.

在过去五年中，我们积极地与当地政府讨论，希望可以选取几处已被联合国教科文组织列入世界文化遗产名录的伟大碉楼建筑，进行修复和活化。我们考察了许多具有潜力的地点，现在已经找到了一处大约由30座已经搬空的碉楼组成的村落，而且这里距离Jeanee的曾祖父当年出生的地点仅有不到1公里。这里或许就是下一个喜林苑的目的地。上周，我们再次来到了这个地方，与当地政府讨论了一些规划开发的最终意见。我们将会与大家保持紧密联系，希望增进大家对这一重要项目动向的了解和参与

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Notes from our annual lecture series

有关我们年度巡讲活动的一点记录

We recently completed a two week series of lectures throughout Shanghai, Hangzhou, Suzhou, and Guangzhou. The talks focused on the social impact of our expanding projects. We delivered talks to community groups, government officials, business schools, and at the American Chambers of Commerce. Our story remains the same: a desire to promote people-to-people exchange during a time of increasing political polarization.

最近，我们刚刚结束了一次为期两周，足迹遍布上海、杭州、苏州、广州的系列巡讲活动。这些讲话聚焦在我们正在向外拓展的项目将给社会带来的影响。我们去到了社会组织、政府办公室、大学商学院和上海美国商会。在这个政治形势不容乐观的时期，我们依然怀抱着一份美好的愿望，希望促进民间的、人与人的真挚交流。

While in Shanghai, a collection of Hopkins Nanjing graduates got together for a memorable dinner. American Consul General Jim Heller, former American Chamber of Commerce President Ken Jarrett, and an impressive group of China experts discussed the current state of relations between China and America and what we all could do to facilitate more discussions and cultural interactions.

在上海期间，约翰•霍普金斯大学-南京大学中美文化研究中心的部分毕业生们齐聚一堂，共度了一场令人难忘的晚餐。美国驻上海总领事Jim Heller、上海美国商会前主席Ken Jarrett，以及一群令人印象深刻的中国专家们，共同就现阶段中美关系展开了讨论，其中一个重要命题便是，我们能做些什么来促成更多开放的讨论和文化的交流。

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A glimpse of Yunnan and beyond

云南一瞥，以及更远的地方

The Centre has been highlighted in numerous television and social media postings during the past few months. Brian’s interview with his friend, Brian Wong, the founder of the RADII media group and former Alibaba VP, captures the mission of the Centre, while our coverage of the Yellow and Yangtze Rivers for Chinese national television shows the respect with which China views our projects. Click on the links to see videos in English and Chinese.

在过去几个月中，喜林苑在许多电视节目和社交媒体曝光中收获了关注。Brian接受了他的好朋友、RADII China创始人、阿里巴巴前副总裁Brian Wong的专访，讲述了喜林苑的愿景与使命。此外，还有由央视新闻国际报道组拍摄制作的Brian人物故事专题片，以及由人民日报英文版带来的沿着黄河与长江拍摄而成的纪录片，这些都展示出了中国对于我们所做项目的认可与尊重。(点击下面的链接可观看中英双语影片)

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2021 will be extremely busy!

2021， 会很忙碌!

We expect our Shibaoshan National Park project to open in February and our Suzhou Dongshan complex to open in April. Brian’s book will be published in early May and we will be doing a series of book tours just before and after the publication. We are evaluating new projects in Chengdu, Fujian Province, and the aforementioned Diao Lou site.

目前，我们的沙溪石宝山项目将有望在今年2月对外开放，同时苏州东山项目将在4月与大家见面!Brian的自传图书将在5月上旬正式出版，我们也将在出版前后，为新书做一系列的巡回宣传活动。我们也正在积极评估着成都、福建以及前面所说的碉楼新址。

We have yet to take on private investors and instead are relying on our own financial wherewithal and government funding to grow. We remain optimistic that 2021 will bring positive changes to all of us.

在没有外部投资的情况下，我们正在依靠着我们自己的财务营收和政府支持发展壮大。我们仍然保持着乐观，2021一定会为我们所有人，带来积极的改变!

Please stay safe, warm, and healthy!

祝您平安喜乐，身体健康!

We miss all our international friends and family!

我们想念着来自全世界的我们的朋友和家人!

Brian and Jeanee