Foreign students experience Xuhang culture
An intangible cultural heritage carnival was held at Xuhang Town in Shanghai's suburban Jiading District on Saturday.
In its tenth year, it featured Chinese traditional dance, a stage show as well as a themed bazaar.
During the carnival, a bilingual mini-movie titled "Straw Plaiting: A Living Heritage Through People and Customs" was premiered. The film showcases the locally unique intangible cultural heritage skill of straw plaiting and explores how it has influenced the lives of local people across generations.
The bilingual mini-movie titled "Straw Plaiting: A Living Heritage Through People and Customs".
In addition to showcasing local specialties, the event gathered intangible cultural heritage projects from various regions, including Luodian in Baoshan District, Ninghua in Fujian Province, and Jiuzhi in Qinghai Province.
The carnival also served as an opportunity to jointly build an intangible cultural heritage community and a cultural tourism union, fostering all-round exchanges in the fields of culture and tourism.
Guihu Park was transformed into a themed bazaar, where artisans showcased their extraordinary skills in intangible cultural heritage. A variety of non-heritage delicacies, traditional Chinese medicine products, and folk games were available.
A themed stage show
A group of international students from Shanghai University participated in the event, experiencing several intangible cultural heritage items, such as grass weaving and rice cakes.
"It's really nice, and I like the crushed peanut on it," said Paul Bressot, a French student.
A group of foreign students try steamed rice cake.
"It's one of my favorite foods now," Helena Dengg, an Austrian student, told Shanghai Daily. She added that the crispy filling was her favorite part and that she was a big fan of Chinese food.
"I think it's very nice to see the culture here, and I love trying new things, new food," Dengg said.
International students were among the audience.
Elturan Abdullayev, an Azerbaijani student, added: "I think I'm actually quite interested in Chinese culture. And I also love the environment here and how people treat us."
He said the rice cake was the best sweet he had ever tried.
A Finnish student said: "I think it's actually quite interesting to come and look at the more traditional cultural life here in China, because I haven't really been exploring China that much, even though I live here. So, it's very nice to see the atmosphere and the people, and to get more familiar with the culture."
Two foreign students pose in hanfu.
