Foreign students enjoy Chinese culture at China-chic bazaar
A group of special visitors attended a guofeng (China-chic) bazaar held at the River Mall in the Pudong New Area, with nearly 50 international students and foreigners from the storytelling club for local expats coming to the bazaar on Saturday to experience Chinese chic and feel the charms of traditional Chinese culture.
Laurenz, a student from Germany, experiences the Chinese traditional tea art.
At the bazaar, foreign students wandered among the traditional clothing displays and participated in interactive activities such as chess, pitching, calligraphy, incense making, tea art, lantern riddles, poetry contests, and more. Shanghai's local intangible cultural heritage projects such as the Maqiao Lion Dance, Jinshan Tubu (homespun), Sanlin Dragon Dance, and Zhuanqiao Paper Cutting can be seen at the market.
Laurenz, a student from Germany, said, "It feels like different dynasties are right in front of me, presenting Chinese culture in a very vivid way."
International students take selfies at the event.
Clothing is one of the most intuitive ways to understand Chinese culture, and the ancient and elegant Chinese costumes captivated the international students.
Sasha, a Russian student at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, wore a bright red mamianqun (horse-face skirt) and twirled in front of the Chinese Art Palace. "I like red, which also represents our country's color. This is probably the link between us."
Kevin, a Kenyan student at Donghua University, chose a green ancient costume embroidered with phoenix patterns and said, "I feel like I am wearing the vitality of nature."
Most of the foreign students speak fluent Chinese and use a Chinese name.
Twenty-four-year-old Kenya student Ma Xue is studying Chinese language and literature at Donghua University. She said she gave up learning Chinese three times because of its difficulty but finally persisted and got the opportunity to study in China.
"When I go back, I also want to buy some Hanfu to take back to Kenya. After I start working, I hope to be engaged in trade and sell various cheap and quality goods from China to Kenya," she added.
Bai Sha, who grew up watching Chinese kungfu movies, is a "China enthusiast." After studying Chinese in Turkey for three years, she came to Shanghai to study in September last year.
She said Tang Dynasty-style is her favorite, "I am a bit chubby, but the beauty of the Tang Dynasty is being plump, so it suits me very well." As a result, she fell in love with Tang costumes and bought four pieces to keep at home.
Nearly 50 international students and foreigners from the storytelling club for local expats took part in the event.
On the day, with the Chinese Art Palace as the background, traditional Chinese cultural performances were on show on the main stage of the bazaar.
Hanfu enthusiasts brought the Tang Dynasty famous painting "Daolian Painting" onto the stage, presenting a scene of Tang Dynasty women sewing clothes.
"Listening to traditional music and seeing restored traditional clothing, it's like watching a Chinese TV drama," exclaimed Hong Seok Kyung from South Korea who has been living in China for 16 years, and is a member of the storytelling club for local expats.
Hong studied from undergraduate to postdoctoral level at the Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine and is now a doctor at the hanghai Yueyang Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine.
"My parents are very interested in traditional medicine, and Korean medicine originated from Chinese medicine, so I came to China to study Chinese medicine," he said.
In addition to traditional Chinese medicine, he told us his mother also loved watching Chinese TV dramas, such as "Eternal Love" and "Nirvana in Fire."
"I often tell my younger schoolmates at school that to learn Chinese medicine, one must grasp Chinese culture," he added.
