Poetic lifestyle and golden harvest scenery in Qingpu a real delight for expats
Subtitles by Hu Min.
Amid gentle autumn breezes, the fragrance of rice and a stunning golden carpet of paddy fields, 16 expatriates embarked on a journey intertwined with art, culture, sightseeing and culinary fun in Linjia Village of Qingpu District over the weekend.
The "CNS Family: Harvest in Season" program was jointly hosted by the Publicity Department of Qingpu District and Shanghai Daily.
Foreign guests from countries such as the United States, France, Hungary, Mozambique and India took the city's iconic red double-decker tourist bus with the City News Service (CNS) logo to the village on Saturday afternoon.
With the 6th China International Import Expo around the corner, Qingpu, which houses the National Exhibition and Convention Center (Shanghai) as the expo venue, is in full gear. The event delivered a sign of warm welcome to guests from around the world.
It's the most beautiful season of the village located in Zhujiajiao Town, known for its vast paddy fields and a poetic farming lifestyle.
A double-decker tourist bus with the City News Service (CNS) logo stops among flowers at Linjia Village in Qingpu District.
The bus ride is filled with laughter.
It has been bathed in brilliant autumn hues of red and green plants and patches of golden paddy field interspersed with the white walls and grey tiles of local residences, creating an oil painting of nature.
During the tour, expats appreciated the enchanting rural scenery of Linjia Village, experienced intangible cultural heritage items such as making Qingpu rice cake, and traditional Chinese Medicine, visited a local bazaar and tried rice harvesting.
The journey was filled with joy and laughter.
A beautiful and proud showcase of paintings featuring the scenery of Linjia Village.
"This day was great, and we discovered a side of Shanghai we didn't know living downtown," said Promethee Nicolas Evangele Spathis from France.
"The organization was good and we have the pleasure to see the countryside of Shanghai. It was very exciting! All the activities were amazing. We did a lot of things by ourselves. The rice cake was delicious...It is my first time traveling in Qingpu. I see a lot of history. The landscape is very beautiful. People are super welcoming. There were so many activities and beautiful photos to take," he said.
Nasir Memon from the United States, said: "I have never been here, and it is so beautiful, very calm and peaceful. The thing I enjoyed the most was just watching the beautiful rice field. I also enjoy a lot of the performance and the fair. I will recommend the place to my friends and I'm sure they will like this as well.
"It was a very happy and satisfying experience," Memon said.
Participants enjoy a banquet of Qingpu's signature delicacies.
The banquet.
"This is the first time for me to visit the village and it reminds me of home," said Umar Ayaz Lone from India. "I have the same feeling and it's really nice. I will definitely recommend the place to my friends, telling them to visit once at least. I'd love to visit this place again! The rice field is beautiful, and people are friendly. Everything is very good here."
He enjoyed making rice cakes very much.
"I like making the dessert and the process of filling those cute boxes is very interesting," he said. "It is really good experience for all."
Savor the joy of the harvest.
Rice harvesting,
They also appreciated an immersive performance and a painting exhibition at Bohexiang (literally mint scent) Bookstore, regarded as the most beautiful rural bookstore in Shanghai.
The bookstore exhibits a stunning collection of painting works of Xu Fengying, a legendary farmer painter who is called by some China's "Grandma Moses," a reference to the American folk artist who began painting in earnest at age 78.
Xu took up painting when she was 70. She paints rural scenes and an inner world full of imagination. Flowers, farmland, rivers, county houses, birds, local folk. She creates a story for each of them on canvas.
Sylviane Lo-Man, a painter from France, presented her work featuring the harvest scene of the village to Xu during the tour.
The tour also included a visit to the studio of acclaimed sculptor Yang Dongbai as Linjia Village has become a magnet of artists.
A visit at Bohexiang (literally mint scent) Bookstore.
A precious gift is presented to Xu (center).
Céline Chanut, an art buff from France, was fascinated by the tour.
"I was surprised by the magic combination of art and farm in Linjia Village," she said. "'Grandma Xu is very talented in art and I love her paintings.
"Her works have a pure beauty and a perfect match of the local environment, which is amazing."
Céline is familiar of Qingpu because many of her French friends have settled down here.
"I have been to the Qingpu District Museum in the past, and I love it," she said. "I have recommended it to my friends."
"The experience is very delightful, and I enjoyed it a lot."
An artistic touch in Linjia Village.
A treasure of Qingpu's intangible cultural heritage – Jiangnan (region in the south of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River) tubu (homespun cloth) also triggered the interest of participants as an exhibition is held.
Bags, shoes, toys and sachets made of tubu are on display.
The journey climaxed with a mouth watering banquet of Qingpu's local food ingredients. The culinary fun included duck in brown sauce, zharou, or straw-wrapped pork, shrimp and rice cakes.
The rice cakes bear logos and elements of the 6th China International Import Expo.
"I love these homemade food, and we have the chance to discover so many dishes I didn't know about," said Spathis. "There are so many different kinds of food and preparations. They were super yummy."
The fun of making rice cake
Expats celebrate the success of making a typical rice cake of Qingpu.
The activity bridges the "The Field of Hope" program launched by Shanghai Daily which went to Qingpu District to try original local flavors in 2021 and a celebration and warm-up event to the first anniversary of City News Service (CNS) falling on November 8.
Since its launch last year, CNS has become the one-stop-shop for all external news and information services in Shanghai. Its sub-brand program CNS Family invites expat families in Shanghai to explore the city during weekends with various culture and tourism experiences.
Sculptures of Yang Dongbai triggers the interest of expats.
"I have become a loyal member of CNS," said Lone. "I would participate in more activities in the future."
Spathis said: "It is my first time for CNS activities and I can guarantee you that I will come in the future because everything was so well organized.
"We discovered so many things. It was very informative, and we can discover this way a lot about Shanghai."
As the permanent hosting place of CIIE, Qingpu is attracting an increasing number of international friends to work and settle down in the district, said officials with the Publicity Department of Qingpu District.
Qingpu invites more foreign friends to walk into the district and experience its unique charm, officials said.
Nilza Adolfo Matiquete from Mozambique sings at the scene.
Cheers for some new friends.
