Tours to Central Asia & China in 2024
Join Society fellow Christine-Ann Richards FSDC on a Central Asian journey along the Silk Road in Kazakhstan in June, or accompany her to China in October to explore china and glass techniques.
Christine-Ann Richards has been organising and leading inspirational trips to the Far East since the 1980s and is offering two tours for 2024. She is a potter and designer based in Somerset. A study trip to China in 1978 with the Crafts Potters Association had a radical effect on her own work and way of life. On returning, she studied Chinese art and culture and since 1985 has taken others on visits to both China and Central Asia.
The Ancient Silk Road in Kazakhstan,
2nd - 15th June 2024
The trip to Kazakhstan will take in ancient cities, archaeological sites, petroglyphs, deserts, mountains and lakes, visiting artists and craftsmen; learning and exchanging techniques and expertise.
“The thing I love about Central Asia is that they haven’t lost the traditional skills. Tiles, textiles, metalwork, printing, painting, ceramics…and we will be visiting individual workshops where, for instance, you can see small children chipping away at breadboards where later they may be creating wonderful carved doors.” Christine-Ann Richards
Land price: £2,650
What’s included: Hotel accommodation (single room supplement applies), transfers, all meals, entrance fees, water on tour bus and tips are usually covered. Not included: International flights, travel insurance, drinks at meals and sundries.
China: Ceramics and Glass. Beijing, Shandong Province, Jingdezhen & Shanghai. 12th October – 1st November 2024
The trip will visit museums, old villages, workshops of glass blowers, makers of snuff bottles and their painters. Also a wood block print studio, paper cutting craftspeople and kite makers: plus traditional and contemporary ceramic workshops in and around Jingdezhen. And there will be time, set aside to spend in the workshops at Sanbao.
“With workshops at the end, I would have thought that there is an opportunity for someone to apply for a grant, or to extend their visit to Sanbao, if they wish. I got a Winston Churchill Travelling Fellowship for my second visit to Japan (too late for this year). Just a thought that maybe someone could apply in the UK for a grant for the tour.” Christine-Ann Richards
Land price: £5,600 (tbc)
What’s included: Hotel accommodation (single room supplement applies), transfers, all meals, entrance fees, water on tour bus. Not included: International flights, travel insurance, drinks at meals, sundries and tips.