Michelle Obama has a brush with Chinese culture at calligraphy class

President Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan greet US first lady Michelle Obama (third left), her daughters Malia (right), Sasha (left) and Obama's mother Marian Robinson (second left) at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing on Friday. The Obama family is making a weeklong visit to China. [Photo/Xinhua]

US first lady Michelle Obama said she was amazed by the country's culture when she tried her hand at Chinese calligraphy for the first time on Friday.

"I want to try again, it's beautiful," she said after writing the Chinese character "yong", which means "forever" in English.

She made the brush strokes under the guidance of a Chinese student at the Second High School Affiliated to Beijing Normal University.

The character she wrote was a typical one for calligraphy skills training. Yang Jie, the class teacher, said ancient Chinese calligrapher Wang Xizhi spent decades writing the character.

"Mrs Obama has done very well as a beginner," she said.

Obama is on a weeklong visit to China with her mother, Marian Robinson, and her two daughters, Malia and Sasha. It is her first trip to China and also the first official visit by a US first lady to the country without the accompaniment of a US president. The family arrived in Beijing on Thursday evening.

China's first lady, Peng Liyuan, who invited Michelle Obama to China, accompanied the guests throughout the day. The US first lady's office said earlier that Peng designed the entire schedule for the tour.

President Xi Jinping and Peng also met their guests in the afternoon at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse.

Xi said he "cherishes the well-established good working relations and friendship" with the US president, according to a Foreign Ministry press release.

Xi also said he "has kept close communication" with the White House through channels including meetings and phone calls.

"I believe that through concerted efforts China-US relations will keep advancing to the goal of the new type of relations between major nations," Xi said.

Obama said she had been impressed by her experiences during the day and expected to make more visits to China. Peng later hosted a dinner for the guests.

The two first ladies turned on the style. Peng wore a dark blue, long suit dress in the morning and a black Chinese-style suit for the official meeting. Obama was dressed in black and white in the morning, changing into a red dress in the afternoon.In the morning at the high school, Lu Yuhong, an outstanding student in the elective calligraphy class, acted as mentor for Obama's Chinese calligraphy skills.

"I was very nervous at first," said Lu, 17. His right hand shook when he showed Obama how to write the character.

But she made him relax. "I'll be worse," she said, drawing laughter from those in the classroom.

Lu said later, "The character of yong is our wish for China-US relations."

Standing next to Obama, a smiling Peng gave the lesson her full attention and showed her US guest how to hold the brush.

Peng also wrote a piece of calligraphy and presented it to Obama as a gift. The piece reads "houde zaiwu", which means that great virtue carries all things.

Some of the students in the class are from the US and are spending a year in China. About 800 students attend the school and about a quarter of them are international students.

Malia Obama, the US first family's elder daughter, recognized Audrey Fritz, her schoolmate at the private Sidwell Friends School in Washington DC, in the classroom.

The pair embraced and Malia told Audrey to meet her during the next semester back in the US.

Alex Wade, another student, said, "I heard that this is going to be the first meeting between the first ladies of the United States and China. It is a momentous occasion." Student Maya Dornbrand-Lo said the fact that Michelle Obama "is coming to China to promote education carries a lot of weight".

Ailslinn Mayfield, 16, said: "I know she (Peng) is revered really highly, and when I talked to a lot of Chinese people they said 'Oh she is beautiful, I love her'. And I think the same applies for Michelle Obama in America."

Obama played table tennis in the school stadium, reminding people of the table tennis diplomacy that helped to warm relations between Beijing and Washington in 1971 and led to the normalization of bilateral ties.

Later, Peng and Obama toured the Forbidden City on a warm, blue-sky day. US President Barack Obama said in 2009 after touring the historic site that he hoped to revisit it with his wife and daughters one day.

Michelle Obama wrote in her travel journal, posted on the Internet for US students to follow, that "Madame Peng is a warm and gracious host."

She noted that many classes are taught in English. "One room even has a map of the United States on the ceiling", and the curriculum prepares students to study internationally once they graduate.

"Many students here hope one day to attend college in America," she wrote.