IAK Villages – A Global Network of Cultural Lineages
Read widely, travel far, and make friends wherever you go.

IAK North America

Los Angeles
San Francisco
New York

IAK South America

IAK China

Beijing
Shanghai
Nanjing
Chengdu
Yangzhou
Wudang Shan
Zhangzhou

IAK Switzerland

Bad Ragaz
Health Retreat Center Walensee

IAK Germany

Hamburg
Munich

IAK France

Lyon

IAK UK

Oxford
Manchester

IAK Australia

IAK New Zealand

Auckland

IAK India

New Delhi

IAK Nepal

Kathmandu

The story of IAK Villages began at the International Cultural Salon in Shanghai in 2002, where people from different nations gathered over tea and music to exchange wisdom and share life experiences. From that moment, this spirit of intercultural friendship and shared philosophy spread across the globe, becoming today’s network of IAK Villages.

IAK Culture Villages Switzerland

The spirit of IAK is not to memorize philosophy, but to live it.

At IAK Village, ancient wisdom is not confined to books or classrooms. It is experienced through everyday life.

Here, we rediscover our relationship with ourselves, with others, and with nature—because wisdom becomes meaningful only when it is lived.

RSVP

Monthly Yaji (Tea Gathering)

Tea, Guqin, classical reading, and thoughtful conversation come together in our monthly Yaji. Rooted in the Chinese literati tradition, these gatherings celebrate friendship, learning, and the quiet joy of sharing culture in everyday life.

Last Sunday of each month

🔹 Open to all members
🔹 RSVP required (limited places)

Rheintal Cottage

A Living Space for the Four Arts and Classical Learning

Nestled in Bad Ragaz, in the Rhine Valley of eastern Switzerland, Rheintal Cottage is IAK's cultural home in Switzerland and the place where many of its research projects, publications, educational initiatives, and cultural exchanges take shape.
Rather than a traditional campus or a museum, it is a living study where reading, the arts, nature, and everyday life come together. Here, the Guqin, tea, classical texts, the garden, and the changing seasons create a quiet environment for learning, allowing culture to become part of daily life.

Every academy begins with a room for learning. Every culture continues through a place we call home.

IAK Academy · Three Schools

Rheintal Cottage is not only a place for everyday living, but also an important space in Switzerland where the IAK Academy brings together learning, practice, and cultural exchange.
The IAK Academy comprises the School of Aesthetics, School of Wisdom, and School of Life Cultivation, bringing art, classical learning, and life cultivation into everyday life and practice.

School of Aesthetics
The School of Aesthetics is known in Chinese as Ruiya Qintang (瑞雅琴堂).

“Ruiya” combines Rui (瑞) and Ya (雅). Rui conveys auspiciousness and also evokes Switzerland, while Ya reflects the spirit of traditional Chinese refined culture—the cultivation of oneself, friendship, and the aesthetics of everyday life.

School of Wisdom
Centered on classical reading and intellectual exchange, it creates a space for learning, reflection, and dialogue across time and between civilizations.

School of Life Cultivation
Centered on life cultivation and practices of body and mind, it brings self-cultivation back into the body, nature, and everyday life.

A true academy extends beyond the classroom, and the true transmission of culture begins in everyday life.