The Beijing Center (TBC) is proud to be part of the IAJU (International Association of Jesuit Universities) Peace and Reconciliation Task Force, a global network of Jesuit universities and higher education institutions committed to promoting reconciliation through various initiatives. As part of this effort, the IAJU has developed the Mapping and GeoVisor Initiative, an interactive platform that visually showcases the contributions of member institutions to the mission of Ignatian reconciliation.
We are excited to announce that TBC’s annual three-day Retreat for young adults is now featured on Google Maps through the IAJU Peace & Reconciliation GeoVisor. As the only institution from the Chinese Province represented on this global platform, TBC is honored to share our work in fostering reconciliation and personal growth among students.
Launched in 2021, TBC’s Retreat is uniquely tailored to the mainland China context, focusing on personal reconciliation through secular language and methods rooted in Ignatian principles. Chinese students who complete the Retreat are invited to continue their journey by training as Retreat leaders or engaging in service learning, further expanding the Retreat’s impact.
TBC’s retreat initiative was also recognized as a best practice in Jesuit education during the 2022 IAJU Worldwide Assembly at Boston College, underscoring its significance within the global Jesuit network.
We encourage other institutions and communities within the Province to share their own initiatives related to peace, reconciliation, and Ignatian formation. By collaborating and expanding this network, we can amplify our collective impact and strengthen this vital mission together.
For more information or to submit your own projects, please contact TBC Executive Director Simon Koo, a member of the IAJU Peace and Reconciliation Task Force working group, at s.koo@thebeijingcenter.org. You may also reach out to Alma Marie O. Salvador from Ateneo de Manila University at salvador@ateneo.edu for further collaboration and inquiries.
Beijing’s Temple of Heaven may be one of, if not, the most iconic tourist sites in Beijing. Constructed starting back in 1406, around the same time as the Forbidden City and the other respective temples of the Sun, Earth and Moon.
Another one of the more irreplaceable experiences we have in China as students is the amount of cultural exchange we get to participate in. While The Beijing Center organizes plenty of culture-based events, from tourist activities to arts workshops, there’s something about engaging with other people our own age in cultural exchange that’s really special.
Over this past weekend, some of our students enrolled at Minzu University of China took their annual Spring Outing – this year, to Gubei Water Town. Situated about a 2-hour drive northeast of Beijing, the April weather made it absolutely perfect to explore for a spring outing. It surrounds various canals and offshoots of Yuanyang lake.
If you ever want to get a taste of Old Beijing, by far one of the best ways is to visit the hutongs. They’ve conceptually been around all the way since the 1200s, and in their most modern forms exist as protected alleyways and streets surrounded by old traditional houses and neighborhoods in the heart of Beijing and are recognized in China to be an important part of cultural heritage in the city.