Highlights from China Charity and Cultural Projects 1Q2026 – 4Q2026

1Q-2Q2026 Highlights

Dalian orphanage project

Repeated a special delivery from the famous burger chain restaurant 塔斯汀for school-age children at the orphanage through their teachers and staff there. Very positive feedback once again on how much they enjoyed and appreciated this special treat at the end of a spring school day…

Visited LBD and disabled elderly miner’s widow and her son in Jilin province

LBD continued his good behavior and has started posting some videos on TikTok with some fans following. His mother who has been suffering from glaucoma since last year praised LBD’s good behavior at home with household work, as well as being a good help to villagers in their farms. The elderly miner’s widow is still bedridden and expressed her appreciation for our project to provide relief on medical bills and vitamin supplements. Her son who lost his job as a truck driver due to back and leg muscular ailments also needs help for surgery and prescription medicines. We will consider additional budget for next year.

Paid tribute to Cultural Heritage sites in Shanxi province where the Tang clan started 3000 years ago during King Wu of Zhou and evolved into State of Jin during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States period.

The ancient State of Tang was the fief of Emperor Yao. After King Wu of Zhou conquered the Shang Dynasty, he enfeoffed his younger brother Shuyu here, known as Tang Shuyu. Shuyu’s son Xiefu renamed the state Jin after the nearby Jin River. Descendants of the royal house took Tang as their clan name and settled down in Shanxi.

From the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods through the Song and Yuan dynasties for thousands of years, most Tang clansmen dwelt in southern Shanxi. In the early Ming Dynasty, large-scale immigration was organized at the Big Locust Tree in Hongtong. Tang families gathered in Hongtong first and then migrated to all parts of the country.

Visited the ancient city Yuncheng(运城) in Shanxi province where the salt lake provided wealth that was the foundation of the influential Jin Merchants(晋商)

Yuncheng is a cradle of Chinese civilization where Yao, Shun and Yu established capitals. It belonged to the State of Jin in pre-Qin times and possessed the Jiechi Salt Lake, amassing vast fortunes from salt trade for ages. Salt taxes long sustained imperial finance, making local salt merchants enormously wealthy. In the Ming and Qing dynasties, these merchants formed the backbone of Shanxi merchants. Their salt-derived initial capital fuelled the rise of piaohao (ancient draft banks) in Pingyao and Qi County. Salt transport routes also laid the framework for the nationwide remittance network of piaohao, rendering Yuncheng the financial hinterland of Shanxi’s banking industry.

Also visited the perfectly preserved ancient city of Pingyao(平遥) where the first form of bank Piaohao(票号) in China was established by Jin Merchants

Pingyao is the birthplace of the embryonic form of China’s modern banking sector. Relying on Shanxi merchants’ trade in the Ming and Qing dynasties, Rishengchang, the first piaohao specializing in interregional remittance, was founded in Pingyao in 1823.

Later numerous piaohaos gathered here. At its peak, Pingyao dominated nationwide remittance and official fund custody, handling taxes, military pay and grain transport funds with branches across the country and overseas. Its confidential codes, accounting rules and risk control systems became industry standards. As the national financial hub in late Qing Dynasty, it offered institutional references for modern banks.

We support the ongoing maintenance repairs on this wonderful cultural heritage “Leaning Tower of China” Yingxian Pagoda (应县木塔). Yes, it’s slightly tilted almost like the Leaning Tower of Pisa in Italy, but 11 meters taller.

Officially Sakyamuni Pagoda at Fogong Temple, it was built in 1056 during the Liao Dynasty in Ying County, Shanxi.
As the world’s tallest and oldest all-wood pagoda, it ranks among the World’s Three Marvel Towers, along with the Eiffel Tower in Paris and the Tower of Pisa in Italy.
67.31 meters tall, it has 5 visible floors and 4 hidden ones. Constructed entirely with mortise and tenon joints without nails, its 59 styles of brackets earn it the title “Museum of Dougong”. Its shockproof double-sleeve structure lets it survive earthquakes and wars for nearly 1,000 years.