Chenjiagou

Chenjiagou is a village of the Chen clan on the Yellow River plain, and taijiquan was developed here in the seventeenth century by Chen Wangting, a retired military officer, combining martial technique with breathing and philosophical principles; every other style, Yang, Wu, Sun and the rest, descends from what was taught in this village. Taijiquan was inscribed by UNESCO as intangible cultural heritage in 2020. The village holds a museum, ancestral hall, training halls and several schools where students from China and abroad train for weeks or years, and the Chen family still teaches. Public practice happens on the training grounds through the day.

What you actually see

• The training schools - halls where students from around the world train.
• The Chen ancestral hall - the clan's temple with the lineage of masters.
• The taijiquan museum - the history of the form and its offshoots.
• The daily practice - forms performed on the training grounds.

When to go

April to June and September to October for comfortable practice weather; summer on the Henan plain is hot and humid. Schools run courses year-round with residential options, arranged in advance.

Honest expectations

The village is ordinary rural Henan outside the training halls, and casual visitors see less than they might expect. Training arrangements require advance contact, often in Chinese. English is limited outside the international schools.

Nearby

Jiaozuo lies north; Yuntaishan is northwest.