Chongqing- On June 10th, Foreigners Having Fun @Chongqing was unveiled in Fengsheng Ancient Town in Ba’nan District. 31 foreigners living and working in Chongqing joined in the launching ceremony, learned to make Zongzi (a kind of special food for the Dragon Boat Festival), intangible culture heritages skills, visited the ancient town, picked red cherries, and visited the Guinness-record breaking 3D paintings to celebrate the upcoming Dragon Boat Festival.

Foreign Expats Learning Intangible Culture Heritages

The annual Foreigners @ Chongqing has been successfully held for three years. The number of foreign participants has reached 1,214. At the ceremony of this year, former participants who have become apprentices of Chinese intangible culture heritages returned and staged spectacular intangible culture heritage shows like JIangjia Dragon Dance, Mudong Folk Songs, and so forth to audiences.

The launch ceremony of 2021 Foreigners Having Fun @ Chongqing (iChongqing / Mu Xuelin)

Meanwhile, a traditional formal ceremony for accepting apprentices was held on the spot. Expats from countries such as Benin, Bangladesh, Ukraine, and Russia were accepted as apprentices by inheritors of intangible culture heritages including Mudong Folk Songs, Yanxing Paper Cuttings, Ironing Paintings, and so forth this year.

What’s worth mentioning is that Ba’Nan District abounds in intangible culture heritages. According to the introduction, there are 2 intangible culture heritages belonging to the national level, 13 to the city level, and 65 to the district level. Rich culture and tourism resources in Ba’Nan make it an ideal place for expats in Chongqing who are interested in Chinese culture to start a cultural exploration.

Rich Activities to Celebrate the Upcoming Dragon Boat Festival

The Dragon Boat Festival is around the corner. At the ceremony, foreign participants were invited to make Zongzi with local residents. On the table, ingredients for Zongzi like glutinous rice, reed leaves, green beans, pork were prepared. Under the instructions of local residents, foreign participants learned to wrap Zongzi.

Making Zongzi (iChongqing/Mu Xuelin)

In addition, other interactive activities like dragon boat competition on land, hammering glutinous rice cakes, writing calligraphy, and making dough figuring, sugar paintings, and kites were arranged to enrich expats’ experience.

Something New in Foreigners @ Chongqing This Year

In the event of this year, Ba’nan District will also broadcast Foreigners @ Chongqing on its Facebook and Twitter accounts (following Ba’nan Folk Culture) as well on iChongqing’s Facebook and Twitter accounts (following iChongqing).

2021 Foreigners Having Fun @ Chongqing (iChongqing/ Mu Xuelin)

In order to demonstrate Chongqing’s development in an all-around way, the organizer will arrange visiting places outside of Ba’nan District to enable foreign friends to visit other districts. Every month, expatriates in Chongqing will be invited to become the native through six “ones” activities, including visiting one Internet Celebrity Tourist Attraction, Competing in one Chinese or Foreign cooking, experiencing one harvest in the rural area, celebrating one traditional Chinese festival, hearing one story about how people become moderate prosperity and learn one farming skill.