The Beauty of Dafa Shone Through the Morning Mists of Edinburgh

When I arrived in Edinburgh, it was to be greeted by an immense cloud of mist, covering everything in silver. I was not aware of the imposing beauty of this city until later when the mist lifted to reveal tall buildings and rocky outlines. We were able to practice the exercises in a small park near the starting point while we waited to meet up with the other people who also practice Falun Gong in the UK. Our aim was to represent the beauty of Falun Dafa and to raise awareness of the persecution of innocent people in China who are not able to practice Falun Gong without fear of terrible reprisals by the Chinese government.

The preparations for our float went smoothly, each person helping out where needed. The colours of the Fan Dance costumes, which had been handmade by one practitioner, were like rich jewels shining in the bright sunshine that had swept away the mist. Flowers decorated the float, which was festooned with balloons and the children sat resplendent in rich satin and brocade on large lotuses, waiting to get started.

Although the parade was late in starting, everyone maintained a good humour and our biggest problem was only to wonder how many leaflets we would need! Then the word came that it was our turn to set off and away we went to the beautiful music of Falun Dafa Hao (Falun Dafa is good). The long banners in traditional Chinese style glowed richly. Each phrase of the music was accompanied by the graceful movements of the Fan Dancers with their pink fans; the crowds showed their appreciation of this beauty by repeatedly clapping and the demand for our small gifts, leaflets and truth clarifying CDs was so high that those who were handing them out soon had no more left.

We came to the end of the parade and all were satisfied that the true magnificence of Dafa had been displayed. It would appear that the media shared this view as one practitioner who holds classes in Edinburgh was asked repeatedly by a journalist for information. The BBC Current Affairs team interviewed another practitioner and the whole float, together with the traditional Tang Dynasty costume wearers. Fan dancers made the front page of the main Scottish newspaper, The Scotsman, and were also featured in the Daily Mail.

Later that afternoon, once the float had been dismantled, we all went to a small area next to The University of Edinburgh where we demonstrated the Falun Dafa exercises and handed out more information.

It was an experience not to be missed.