Food preparation is a hallmark at Long Tou Shan Tai Chi School. Traditionally, many Qigong and Tai Chi schools in China have provided flavoursome but sometimes too oily meals to their students. Only rarely have schools like ours incorporated a lower-fat vegetarian menu. As we know since Dr Colin Campbell’s publication of the world-renowned China Study such a diet lays the foundation for a long and healthy life.

All meals are prepared by family. Our teacher Da Zhu’s mother in law, Mrs. Xiu, cooks each day for the school, bringing a personal and steady presence to the kitchen.

Much of the food is sourced locally. Vegetables are often grown in Mrs. Xiu’s garden or selected fresh from the market in town, and eggs come from the school’s own chickens. This connection to where the food comes from is reflected in the simplicity and quality of each meal.

All students receive a delicious and healthy breakfast, lunch and dinner every day of the week, and we eat together at big, round tables as is customary in China. Food is typically vegetarian, including all the local ingredients such as tofu, broccoli, green vegetables, carrots, bean sprouts, eggs, tomatoes, and the like, with occasional meat dishes depending on students’ needs. And of course there is always rice! At every meal there are many dishes on our big round table to sample from.