Shanghai welcomes international residents to experience cultural traditions

On Tuesday, the city of Shanghai welcomed some of the city's international residents to Yuyuan Garden to learn about, experience, and participate in various traditional cultural Spring Festival activities and customs. The traditional practices are part of the country's focus on highlighting the nation's intangible cultural heritage and expand the world's knowledge and understanding of customs related to the Spring Festival and the culture therein.

The group of visitors, including foreign nationals as well as individuals from Hong Kong and Macau and overseas Chinese, arrived at the Garden on Tuesday afternoon. After some time to explore the area's history and natural beauty, the group was treated to demonstrations of various traditional activities that have been passed down for generations to the experts at the Garden.

The proceedings began with a traditional puppet show, called piyingxi, complete with a story and a song to accompany the dancing characters. The show was particularly popular with the youth overseas attendees, who huddled toward the front to get a closer look. Thereafter, an expert in traditional Chinese medicine showed the guests how to prepare a root used for treatments and offered the guests to sample a bit of the traditional treatment for themselves. The next tradition on display was a special type of printing in which Chinese characters are carved and then pressed onto paper using various colors of ink to create vibrant images.

Following that, an expert chef demonstrated the process, step-by-step, of making one of Shanghai's most famous traditional delicacies, xiaolongbao soup dumplings. Rolling and separating the dough by hand to create the perfect outer skin for each dumpling, the chef showed the attendees the entire process, from adding the meat filling to folding the dough into its signature shape. The visitors then attempted the process for themselves. The final piece of intangible cultural heritage was the preparation of special dessert items. The famed colorful treats have been prepared for special guests to the city over the years.

The group then came together for a group photo and spent some time strolling around the garden as the sun began to set. As the sky began to darken, the festive lights inside the garden were lit, illuminating the area and adding to the festive holiday atmosphere. Tiger imagery could be seen everywhere marking the coming of the Year of the Tiger in 2022.