Cultural Keys

  My husband and I attended the Spring Festival Event at Cultural Keys which included writing calligraphy, learning the history of the festival, and making dumplings. Transportation is organized for you... read more (included in the price) from a central spot in Beijing. AJ and Nic are very friendly, inviting and knowledgeable about many aspects of Chinese life and culture. Experts were brought in to teach about Chinese calligraphy, and we got to practice the characters before writing them on beautiful scrolls so we could take them home and hang them on our door. They also had a mother/daughter team come in to teach us how to make dumplings which was really fun! They cooked them for us and we had a big meal together. It was a very fun and well-organized event. I would highly recommend signing up for one of their classes or events.

  Cultural Keys' martial arts training program at the Shaolin Temple is like nothing else you will ever experience. Cultural Keys is run by two amazing individuals that work hard to... read more provide their students with the most immersive, authentic Shaolin Temple and Chinese Culture experience available to the public. If you decide to take the leap, AJ Donnelly will be your main instructor for the duration of your time in Shaolin and Nic will be your guide/encyclopedia.These two make a great team providing you with a well rounded experience, physically and culturally. If you are enthusiastic about martial arts and progressing yourself mentally and physically, you couldn't ask for a better instructor. AJ will push you beyond what you previously thought you were capable of, while guiding you for personal success throughout the trip.

  I recently visited Nic and AJ’ s lovely art studio for a calligraphy workshop with my friends. This experience gave me much more than I expected: we learned about the... read more history and the making of Chinese calligraphy and I now truly appreciate the depth and sophistication of the true masters. I was able to bring home my very first attempt of calligraphy with my name written on it by the master. I would definitely take friends and visiting family members to this workshop and to the art village. Thank you Nic and AJ for a lovely day!

  Recognizing my Spirit The experience at the Shaolin Temple was as I expected, hoped for and much more. I knew I had to push my body, this was a... read more fact I tried to prepare myself for this back in Holland. However, I was more curious...More

  You will be stretched beyond your current limits. You will feel the aches and the soreness. But, you will leave with an experience of a lifetime and form habits you’ll... read more carry with you for a long time to come. Like many people, I knew about...More

  I attended this afternoon workshop on traditional sugar blowing and sugar pouring, and it was quite good. I know the language barrier will always be a challenge in China, but... read more with something as difficult as this, I would have appreciated a more step by step approach. The cultural presentation was lovely, not too much info and very interesting. I would definitely attend other events with Cultural Keys!

  I attended this afternoon workshop on traditional sugar blowing and sugar pouring, and it was quite good. I know the language barrier will always be a challenge in China, but... read more with something as difficult as this, I would have appreciated a more step by step approach. The cultural presentation was lovely, not too much info and very interesting. I would definitely attend other events with Cultural Keys! More

  We had a great private lesson with AJ in a parc. As it was a private lesson, we could create it to our own concerns. We never did Kong-fu before... read more and wanted to get an overview about the different styles. So we had a fulfilling 2 hours lesson with High intensity warm-up, basic movements, TaiChi and Shaolin.
We all got a good first impression of King-fu, where happily exhausted and would love to do it again. Afterwards, we felt so well and upright, great! I really can recommend AJ, as he is a very good and patient teacher. And he is very polite, easygoing and has a lot of knowledge. Highly recommended if you are interested in Material Arts!

  Dear Nomo,

Many thanks for your lovely review! We are so glad that you got a feeling of inclusiveness from the Warriors' Workshop, and felt so much was... read more covered. If people leave one of our cultural activities feeling that they really gained something, whether that's a historical insight, self improvement, or even just a fun memory, we know we have done a good job. Sincerely, thank you so much for joining the workshop, and we most definitely look forward to you finding time to join one of our programs in the future!

五福临门，

AJ

  I have now done two workshops with Cultural Keys and they were both great. The studio in the art village is a bright and cheery place filled with different Chinese... read more arts. Nic gave interesting and informative presentations before the workshops and then a master artist gave instruction. Tea and snacks were provided as well as a delicious dumpling lunch at a quaint local restaurant. All in all a fun outing with friends, and I went home with a lovely piece of art!