The China-India Yoga College vows to expand its training beyond its location city of Kunming, capital of southwest China's Yunnan Province, as yoga gains popularity in China as a healthy lifestyle choice.
The college opened its first branch on Saturday at Yunnan University in the city of Lijiang as part of its nationwide partnership with universities in cultivating high-level yoga professionals.
A total of 50 branches will be set up in the future to boost yoga education and teacher training, according to Chen Luyan, dean of the China-India Yoga College.
Nearly 100 yoga teaching and training centers will also be built to provide teacher training courses, yoga workshops and non-profit courses, Chen said.
File photo of the opening ceremony of the China-India Yoga College being held at Yunnan Minzu University, in Kunming, southwest China's Yunnan Province. /Photo via Chinanews.com
As part of a China-India cultural exchange program, the China-India Yoga College was founded at Yunnan Minzu University in June 2015. It is reportedly the first overseas yoga college outside India, recruiting undergraduates and postgraduates.
“The China-India Yoga College has made gratifying achievements in promoting and regulating yoga's development in China. It is believed that the mode will pormote yoga education and teaching in China," Wei Shengxian, the representative of the Embassy of India in China, was cited by the China News Service as saying.
(Top image: Yoga enthusiasts practice yoga in Jianning county, east China's Fujian Province, July 8, 2018. /VCG Photo )