Countryside coffee festival brings intangible culture for the whole family
A pleasant coffee tasting
In the midst of a golden rice paddy, Caja Antonino, a senior Italian business consultant living in China for 23 years, sipped a cup of coffee and enjoyed a moment of tranquility amid the enchanting rustic scenery of Fangxia Village in suburban Shanghai.
The Idol Country Coffee Carnival, in its second year, promises more than the aroma of coffee, but the alluring idyllic suburb scenery.
It opened on Friday and runs through the weekend in Qingpu District.
Caja Antonino said it's pleasant to have coffee in the middle of a rice field.
"The rice field makes the difference," he said.
Expat families from the United States, Switzerland and Italy who work and live in Qingpu savored the atmosphere of the area, experiencing elements of traditional intangible cultural heritage like watermark print and rice cake making, as part of the event on Friday afternoon.
They said they enjoyed the beauty and vitality of Qingpu villages, and the unique charm of local culture.
Caja Antonino at the paddy fields of Fangxia Village.
It's the latest effort of the district to enhance its soft power and tell the stories of Qingpu to foreign friends.
During the festival, elements of Qingpu's intangible cultural heritage like tianshange (folk songs sung in the field by farmers), jiaobai (wild rice shoots) leaf weaving and tubu (homespun cloth) making are showcased, and visitors are able to experience some of them.
A cultural product bazaar is also held with frisbee and camping activities also on site.
Shot by Wang Yong.
If you go:
Venue: Idol Farm
Address: the paddy field west of the village committee of Fangxia
Date: Through November 20,10am-5pm
Admission: Free
The coffee carnival opens on Friday.
A corner at the festival
A barista makes coffee at the event.
