Have you ever had the desire to visit China? Do you have any interest in qi gong, the traditional Chinese system of exercise and healing?

If your answer to either of these questions is yes, Paul Weiss, director of the Whole Health Center in Bar Harbor, is leading a group tour to China in May and you are invited.

Weiss first visited China to study qi gong (pronounced chee gung) in 1994.

He has been back five times and is eager to share his new Chinese “home” and his growing Chinese “family” with fellow Maine residents.

“The trip is open to anyone who is interested,” Weiss said. “I would really like to see community people in the group. I’d like to create a dialogue between people from here” and those they meet in China.

Dr. Wan Sujian, physician, qi gong master and director of the Chinese Taoist Medical Qigong Institute and Hospital in Beijing, will host the Maine group.

Much of Weiss’ training has been with Wan, and WHC now is affiliated with the Beijing Institute.

“I’ve visited many places in China, and I’ve always kept my connections up with this one institute,” Weiss said. “They always welcome more guests, and welcome a plan of study.”

The May trip is planned to introduce the group to the self-healing exercises of qi gong, offer a firsthand glimpse of the Chinese healing arts and martial arts, and enable guests to receive healing treatments from the institute staff.

However, Weiss stressed, “this current trip is shaping up to be a more generalist type of trip and less clinical.

“Everybody will have a chance to practice and experience qi gong, as an exercise, in the evenings.” Weiss said. “During the day, we will be visiting and touring, and those who want to do more of that will do more. I certainly hope they are interested in learning qi gong, but they can take the course or take the trip.”

Speaking of qi gong, Weiss said, “I’ve never met anyone who didn’t enjoy it, and didn’t feel they got some benefits from it.”

The trip includes visiting the Great Wall of China and other cultural sites around Beijing, and a flight south to spend several days traveling through the Three Gorges on the Yangtze River. According to Weiss, a major hydroelectric dam project is now under way, meaning that “historic scenic wonder will soon be lost for all time.”

If this trip appeals to you, think about doing it now.

“The thing is, the timetable is a bit short,” Weiss said. “They’re holding a block of seats for us, and by the beginning of next week we have to give them actual names. So to guarantee seats for here and in China, we need to hear from people as soon as possible.”

Weiss urged interested persons not to let that imminent timetable deter anyone from considering this trip of a lifetime. For more information the trip or studying qi gong, call Weiss at 288-4128.

Writing on behalf of the Maine Chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, Lynn Saucier invites members of the public who are visiting southern Maine to enjoy a prom fashion show beginning at 7 p.m. Friday, March 3, at Center Court of the Maine Mall in South Portland.

Featuring fashions from David’s Bridal, prom outfits will be modeled by high school students who also will be spreading the message that alcohol and teens do not mix.

Guests will be eligible for a $15 coupon at David’s Bridal as well as chances to win prizes donated by local businesses.

Members of the former Eastern Mane General Hospital School of Nursing in Bangor, Class of 1951, are planning their 50th reunion celebration this summer, reports Dorothy Clark of Brewer.

However, the classmates have been unsuccessful in reaching several members. Clark writes that the reunion planners have failed to find Joan Costello Mitchell, Flora McGaven Deveau, Nancy Mayberry Auxter, Grace Allene Mason, Mona Burtsell Durso, Constance Brown Mank and Jean Palmer Welton.

If you know the whereabouts of any of these members of the EMGH Class of ’51, write Clark at 6 Canterbury Road, Brewer 04412.

The NEWS recently received a very considerate letter from Carl Van Hess of Estes Park, Colo.

Van Hess wrote that on Thursday, March 8, his mother Sandra (Van Hess) Monarch will celebrate her 100th birthday. “As a young wife, she and my father lived in the Bangor area for a number of years,” Van Hess wrote. “She has many fond memories of her early years in the area. It would mean so much to her if people from the Bangor area would send her a postcard or brief note wishing her a happy 100th birthday.”

Monarch’s address is 669 East Kitchen, Port Neches, Texas 77651.

Joni Averill, Bangor Daily News, P.O. Box 1329, Bangor 04402; 990-8288.