Old China Hands Lunch 3 July

Posted on by Gilbert Van Kerckhove

Summer is here

The Old China Hands Lunch 3 July had 25 attendants, with several last-minute cancellations. Not too bad!
We had three July birthday boys, see Quentin (aka Monsieur Confiture) and Hans, Matthew skipped the waffle.

The menu, see the pictures:

  • Monaco eggs salad OR Morel’s chef salad (ham, blue cheese and pan-fried chicken, beef on lettuce) OR fresh daily soup
  • Liège white sausage (boudin blanc) with onion sauce served with red cabbage and mashed potatoes OR sliced cold roast beef served with potatoes and mixed salad OR pan-fried snapper with mustard sauce served with daily vegetables and mashed potatoes
  • daily desert

The following lunch is planned for Friday 7 August 2026. I wonder how many will be around!

Xi’an trip

Gilbert was in Xi’an attending the World Internet Conference where he delivered a talk:
“Beyond the Image: Building a Living Digital Ecosystem for China’s Millennia-Old Legacy” by Gilbert Van Kerckhove, Rotating Chairman UWEE Group.

Xian

Besides the Conference also an opportunity to visit Xi’an by night, impressive!
Xi’an has a total population of about 13.17 million people, featuring an urban population of 10.59 million (more people than in Belgium!). Most residents belong to the Han majority, alongside a historic and vibrant minority Muslim Hui community centered around the city’s Xi’an Muslim Quarter.
Sights: Bell Tower and Drum Tower: Centrally located towers that glow brightly against the night sky, surrounded by vibrant city traffic circle. Datang Everbright City: A massive pedestrian street designed with grand Tang-style architecture, glowing LED art installations, street performances, and people dressed in traditional hanfu.
The city also has a vast subway network.

Old China Hands Lunch 5 June

Posted on by Gilbert Van Kerckhove

No birthday boys

The Old China Hands Lunch 5 June counted 33 attendants, nice turnout!Nobody present with anniversary in June. As announced earlier, when RSVP send your birthday (day-month if not done yet)!
As always lively discussions and great food.
The following lunch is planned for Friday 7 August 2026.

The menu, see the pictures:

  • sliced smoked salmon stuffed with seafood and garden greens OR poached eggs with wine merchant sauce OR Flemish tomato vegetable soup
  • thin sliced tenderloin with black pepper sauce served with vegetables and Belgian fries OR fricandon (meatloaf) of beef served with hot cherry and mashed potatoes OR red snapper Mediterranean style served with daily vegetables and mashed potatoes
  • daily desert

Our Mr. Railways in the news

David Feng talking about “How China is building faster high-speed railways using vast underwater tunnels”.
See the PDF of the SCMP article.

260401 tunnelDownload

David is still stuck in Zhengzhou but is planning to return to a more civilized world.
Here more from David:
David Feng – The Chinese Rail Briefing by Trains Plus chineserailbriefing@substack.com
“Spotlight China: On board world’s fastest train”
http://english.scio.gov.cn/m/videos/2018-09/13/content_63402521.htm

More about Rotary Club of Beijing 102 years

Posted on by Gilbert Van Kerckhove

Our tables

Here more about Rotary Club of Beijing 102 years Gala.
As Rotating chairman of the UWEE Group I helped to book four tables for our special guests, friends and UWEE staff. We warmly welcomed the ambassadors of: Argentina, Bahamas, Denmark, Philippines, Luxembourg, and Mauritius. We also welcomed the special envoys of Belgium, Timor-Leste, Italy, and Russia among our other special guests.

See some pictures of our four tables, lively conversations!

Our guests

See here some pictures of some of our guests. We are grateful for their presence and active participation.

They all seemed to have a great time!
See here the full video of the Gala.

Silent auction and raffle

Twenty paintings were donated by UWEE Group for the silent auction, part of the collection of children paintings, part shown yearly in the Paris Louvre museum, see the art website of UWEE. UWEE® International Art Exhibition at The Louvre is initiated by UWEE Group in conjunction with governments and international organizations of many countries, and supported by many UN agencies. After six sessions, it has gathered more than 20,000 works from more than 80 countries, and it has become an art exchange platform across civilizations.

A symbolic check of the paintings proceeds was made and picture taken with the Club’s President, UWEE CEO, and delegates from the Hebei Children’s Hospital.
See also some of the items I donated for the silent auction and the raffle.

Rotary Club of Beijing 102 years

Posted on by Gilbert Van Kerckhove

Gala Ball

The Rotary Club of Beijing 102 years Gala on 7 March 2026 in the Kempinski Hotel was again a success, Nearly 200 guests had a great night of entertainment, food, and fellowship to celebrate 102 years of the Club.
The generous donations from the guests, through raffle tickets and silent auction delivered around RMB 120,000 to the Hebei Children’s Hospital. They are our partner for two of our projects, scoliosis and hypospadias.

autism
Beijing Huiling
hypospadias
LiXioaqing
MCFFutureThinkers
scoliosis

See short introductions of some of the projects we support.

Welcome to all guests

During the reception in ballroom foyer guests were registered and offered champagne. UWEE had its own registration for its 40 guests.
In the first part of the evening we had as speakers: Rob, President of the Rotary Club of Beijing, introducing our Hypospadias and Scoliosis Partners, Dr. Xinping Zhang, Hebei Children’s Director and Party Secretary and Ms. Xiaowei Cui, Director. IPP Didier also took the stage. And also banner exchange with the Rotary Club of Beijing Dynasty and a surprise birthday boy congratulated by our MC David and the Club President.

registration_proceedings

UWEE reception
with Jane
Philippines ambassador
the foodies
Rob
Didier
Gilbert
Beijing Dynasty
Rob & birthday boy
David & birthday boy
group picture

A film showed the Rotarians visiting the Hebei Children’s Hospital on 1 March 2026.
Of course we had a group picture of the Rotarians!

Entertainment and food

Provided by UWEE Group:

  • Italian opera by Mr. Zhan Ying, Baritone, Dr of Musicology, “La donna è mobile” from Giuseppe Verdi’s Rigoletto
  • Mongolian Folk Dance by Dongzhimenwai ANGRAN Dance Group (twelve senior ladies), “Blessings of the Grassland”
  • Chinese classical instruments orchestra by  “Zi Yan Folk Ensemble” (ten musicians), “The whip urges the horse to hurry and transport grain”

Other entertainment:

  • Voca-Liszt Vocal Ensemble (15 performers)
  • SWG Ensemble – a high energy live band led by vocalist Ting Luo, with guitarist Xin Xiang, award winning bassist Dima Tang and drummer and composer Johanthan Chang
  • Dancing to DJ Music
Screenshot

The Kempinski served a full course dinner, much appreciated.
Yes we had fun, see the video: Rotary Gala Dancing
In a next post, more pictures!

Old China Hands Lunch 8 May

Posted on by Gilbert Van Kerckhove

After the holidays

The Old China Hands Lunch 8 May was on a different date. As the first Friday was 1 May – special holiday – we had the lunch a week later. Turnout was reasonable with 25 guests.
We had two birthday boys who got a special desert: Raja and Khee Liang.

The great menu, see the pics:

  • Russian eggs salad OR salad Niçoise OR fresh daily soup
  • pork piccata Provençal style served with grilled tomato and pan-fried potatoes OR beef tenderloin Stroganoff served with market vegetables and steamed rice OR red snapper Provençal style served with vegetable and mashed potatoes
  • daily desert

Thanks to Morel’s Restaurant for a great lunch as always.
The following lunch is planned for Friday 5 June 2026.

The musical duo is back

Very happy to have Fu Han back, as she was away in the USA for over six years, where she was mostly flying around in all kinds of small airplanes.
She joined Mark for the lunch.

The fans

On 4 May we went to watch their performance at the Juicy Burger Fest in Chaoyang Park. They attracted quite an enthusiastic crowd.
Welcome back to the “In Side Out” musical duo, they have been performing all over China.

In August 2019 I took along Mark and Fu Han to the city of Qinyuan in Shanxi Province where they performed for a big crowd in the center of the city. The trip was organized by UWEE Group.
See here on YouTube some short clips from the event.


























































After the holidaysThe Old China Hands Lunch 8 May was on a different date. As
the first Friday was 1 May – special holiday – we had the lunch a week later.
Turnout was reasonable with 25 guests.We had two birthday boys who got a special desert: Raja and Khee
Liang.260508 OldChinaHandsThe great menu, see the pics:Russian eggs salad OR
salad Niçoise OR fresh daily souppork piccata Provençal
style served with grilled tomato and pan-fried potatoes OR beef tenderloin
Stroganoff served with market vegetables and steamed rice OR red snapper
Provençal style served with vegetable and mashed potatoesdaily desert

Thanks to Morel’s Restaurant for a great lunch as always.The following lunch is planned for Friday 5 June 2026. The musical duo is backVery happy to have Fu Han back, as she was away in the USA
for over six years, where she was mostly flying around in all kinds of small
airplanes.She joined Mark for the lunch.PICSOn 4 May we went to watch their performance at the Juicy
Burger Fest in Chaoyang Park. They attracted quite an enthusiastic crowd.Welcome back to the “In Side Out” musical duo, they have
been performing all over China.PICSIn August 2019 I took along Mark and Fu Han to the city of Qinyuan
in Shanxi Province where they performed for a big crowd in the center of the
city. The trip was organized by UWEE Group.See here on YouTube some short clips from the event.
(https://youtu.be/o5SoCPGxWfw)