Path to inner peace

My China Dream | Africans at Shaolin

A cultural exchange course offers young Africans a tough but rewarding experience at the famous Shaolin Temple. Qi Xin in Dengfeng and Han Bingbin in Beijing report.

At 4 am in a hotel in Dengfeng, Henan province, a 32-year-old Nigerian woman, Peace Emezue, wakes to the cries of "jihe"! ("assemble"). Half an hour later, still sleepy, she shows up in the lobby to join 19 other young Africans, all dressed in gray robes and canvas shoes.