What is a traditional Chinese farmhouse doing in West Virginia? Rather than allow the historic home to be demolished, Dr. John flower and a team of Chinese and U.S. volunteers moved the house over eight thousand miles from China to the United States. China Folk House rebuilt the traditional Yunnan-style home in West Virginia with over 22 thousand hours of volunteer labor from community members and students. China Folk House aims to serve as a cultural exchange project, connecting U.S. and Chinese rural communities in cultural exchange, as well as spreading and preserving knowledge of local issues and traditional practices.
In an interview recorded on August 30, 2024, John Flower discusses his vision for the China Folk House project and its purpose to bridge rural communities in West Virginia and Yunnan through architecture and craftsmanship.
John Flower
Dr. John Flower (right) is the Director of the China Folk House, along with his wife Dr. Pam Leonard (left). He saved a Yunnan farmhouse saved from a dam and rebuilt as a site for experiential learning, environmental sustainability and people-to-people cultural exchange in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia. He is the retired Director of the Sidwell Friends School Chinese Studies Program, a former associate professor of East Asian History at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and fellow at the East Asia Center at the University of Virginia. Dr. Flower’s scholarship focuses on local history and folklife in China and Tibet and he teaches courses on China and East Asian History including the “China Fieldwork” summer and semester experiential learning programs in Yunnan.