Prose finds its place in the former residence of historical figure

Jurg Burri, Swiss Ambassador to China, tried his hand at tea preparation.

He shares that his most memorable cultural experiences in Beijing are the annual Spring Festival and Lantern Festival.

"I love the atmosphere with all the red lanterns at the end of winter. It's truly a special time when families gather to eat dumplings and the lanterns make the city glow red," he says.

For Beate Trankmann, the United Nations Development Programme's resident representative in China, it was her second visit to the Former Residence of Soong Ching Ling.

She points out that Soong was a female leader who broke barriers. Soong became one of China's national leaders during a time when very few women rose to such positions, Trankmann says.

"She used her position to advocate for women's participation in social and political life, and also to promote women's rights.

"As a female leader myself, I feel here as a very moving place. I think her mission in life remains very important, especially in this age — a tech-dominated world where we must work to ensure women are not only included, but in a position to shape the future," she says.