Greetings:

Now that the best days of summer are upon us, we encourage you to take advantage of the many great activities and events that will be taking place throughout the Twin Cities in the coming months.

While we would normally wish to spend the summer enjoying outdoor activities we strongly recommend that you plan to see A Flower Drum Song now playing at the McKnight Theatre, Ordway Center. This classical musical by Rogers and Hammerstein is being presented by Mu Performing Arts and there are only 8 performances remaining.  For additional information and a review of the play, please be sure the read the articles presented elsewhere in the paper. We were honored to have C.Y. Lee author of the novel and David Henry Hwang playwright of the updated version, attend the opening night performance.

The outdoor activity not to be missed is the Dragon Festival on July 11 & 12 that will be held at Phalen Lake Park, St. Paul, MN.  This is the largest pan-Asian event of the Twin Cities and is totally free! The event will feature dragon boat races, cultural performances, martial arts and cooking demonstrations, arts & crafts, Asian cuisine, canoe rides and children’s activities. Something for the whole family to enjoy.

Also, Circus Juventas in collaboration with CAAM Chinese Dance Theater is presenting Yulong, the Jade Dragon, the legendary tale of Hua Mulan. a circus spectacle of battles, dances and festivals, celebrating courage, love and Chinese artistry. 

We also wish to direct your attention to a medical study that is being conducted by Prism Research. This study could ultimately benefit Chinese patients in proper dosage of medication and they are seeking candidates of Chinese descent. 

ChinaInsight, in conjunction with Eden Prairie High School, has organized a visit by 20 students and teachers from Loudi, Hunan Province, China, from July 16-26, 2009.  Although a full schedule of activities has already been developed for their visit, there is a possibility of scheduling a few evening or weekend activities for them if anyone is interested in sponsoring or organizing such an event. An opportunity to serve as a host family might also be possible. Please contact Richard He at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or me, if you wish to discuss.

We also want to tell you that there is not a separate edition of ChinaInsight that will he printed for August. As is our policy, this a combined July/August issue so that our great volunteer staff can take a break. We will resume our regular monthly schedule in September.

As always thank you for supporting ChinaInsight and we hope that you will enjoy the balance of the summer and will make it a point to attend and support the various activities that are being held throughout the Twin Cities. By doing so, you assist in fostering business and cultural harmony between China and the U.S.

Sincerely,

Gregory J. Hugh 
Publisher