Shanghai's Jiading welcomes foreign talent for Mid-Autumn Festival

For Chinese, the upcoming Mid-Autumn Festival symbolizes reunion and happiness, and Jiading District hosted a Mid-Autumn Festival gathering for foreign talent over the weekend filled with laughter and joy, to enhance their sense of belonging and contentment while working in the district.

The activity was hosted by the Jiading District Talent Work Bureau on Zhouqiao Historic Street, where Jiading's history and culture originated.

About 20 families of foreign professionals from countries such as the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom, Belgium, and Singapore got to try making mooncakes, tie-dye fabric, and make diancha (finely ground powder from processed green tea) during the event.

The foreign talent shared their experiences and feelings of working and living in Jiading, and made suggestions during the event.

Yaoban cloth (also called blue-and-white cloth) has a history of thousands of years. It originated in the south of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River in the Tang (AD 618-907) and Song (960-1279) dynasties and thrived throughout the country during the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties.

In Anting, its history can be dated back to over 800 years and Anting yaoban cloth was listed as an intangible cultural heritage of Shanghai in 2009.

Under the guide of an inheritor of the intangible cultural heritage, participants experienced the traditional craft and were able to create unique silk scarfs.

Beate Gertrud, from Germany, has worked in Jiading since 2011. She is the project director of an auto parts company in Anting Town.

"Jiading is like my second home," she said. "I really like it and everything is convenient here."

Dressed in hanfu attire, she made a mooncake with her daughter. "I really like mooncakes while it was my first time making it, which is not as easy as I thought," she said. "I am very happy about the experience.

"The tie-dye is not easy either because you have to find the right pattern," she added.

Gertrud used to work in Malu Town.

"Both towns are pretty nice, and Anting is more modern," she said. "It's convenient for foreigners to work in Jiading."

Vojtech from England works at a bilingual school in the district.

He tried tie-dyeing with great interest.

"It's very interesting although it is a little complicated, maybe more practice is needed," he said.

Vojtech said he loves Chinese culture and also sweet-flavored mooncakes.

He has lived in Jiading for two years.

"It has very nice environment, lots of greenery and parks."

It is also convenient working in the district, he said.

"I made a registration on an app for working here, which had every detail and is easy."

The activity aimed to help foreign experts experience traditional Chinese culture and to further enhance their sense of belonging while working in Jiading, according to the Jiading District Talent Work Bureau.

"'It is always a pleasure to have a friend from afar,' the ancient Chinese saying goes, and we are truly delighted and honored by the presence of foreign friends here to celebrate the festival," said Fang Jian, director of the bureau.

"You leave your homeland and come here to develop your careers, contributing to the city's construction, injecting vitality into its economic development, and dedicating your efforts to scientific and technological innovation. It is because of you that this city shines brighter."

Fang said the bureau would serve foreign talent with higher-quality measures to reciprocate their dedication to the city.

"We hope the event will form a better understanding of Jiading among these foreign experts and deepen understanding of each other, and the event also helped us more accurately learn the needs of foreign talent, thus providing better services for them," said Qiu Jun, deputy director of the bureau.