Chongqing- Banan District held an action packed dual event in Fengsheng Ancient Town on June 2nd to kick off their summer season for cultural tourism, as well as to invite overseas friends resident in Chongqing to experience intangible heritage as part of the Laowai@Chongqing activity.

In anticipation of this year’s Dragon Boat Festival, 14 overseas guests who were mainly from the Chongqing University of Posts and Communications experienced the delights of fruit picking, wrapping traditional glutinous rice cakes known as ‘zongzi,’ and performances of intangible cultural heritage such as the Jiangjia dragon dance before exploring the old streets of Fengsheng, and seeing the Guinness World Record holding 3D mural in the Colour Forest Scenic Area.

Goncharova Ekaterina is from the Russian Federation, and attended the Laowai@Chongqing event and shared her experience. 'The ecology of the countryside here is really stunning! Banan has completely overturned my old impressions. The countryside is not only beautiful, but it’s also developing quickly, and the people have very modern lifestyles.’

Foreign guests of Laowai@Chongqing learn to make zongzi with local families at Fengsheng Ancient Town. (Photograph provided by the Banan District )

During the height of summer, the fragrance of ripe peaches fills the air in Huangjinlin Village, and over the month of June, visitors can obtain promotional vouchers through the online Bashiyou platform, then round off a fun day of peach picking with a dip in the Eastern Hot Springs and farmhouse hospitality amidst the picturesque surroundings.

In addition, the Colour Forest nearby Fengsheng Town offers scenes of natural beauty, where visitors can admire the green mountainous surroundings as far as the eye can see. Many tree species can be found here including sinensis, metasequoia and maple, while the oil paintings set on rock faces attract tourists in their droves, who can also choose to experience the rural hospitality overnight at themed guesthouses and enjoy the natural surroundings.

Following the launch of summer travel season in Fengsheng, guests experienced the local tradition of Jiangjia dragon dance. (Photograph provided by the Banan District )

The opening ceremony took place inside the courtyard of local guesthouse Shiquan Hall, where locals showed the overseas friends how to wrap zongzi with a range of fillings including black glutinous rice and peach chunks, which are pushed inside folded palm leaves and bound with string. Despite the tricky nature of this task, the foreign guests tried hard to learn the skills and made a number of successful zongzi..

Rimon from Bangladesh looked back on the fun experience. ‘The key is to bind the zongzi tightly when you’ve put the filling in, otherwise you'll find it’s too loose and the ingredients slip out.’ Rimon managed to wrap ten zongzi during the experience, and shared how there are similar delicacies back home. When he returns to Bangladesh, he hopes to share the methods involved in wrapping zongzi with people back home.

Russian student Goncharova Ekaterina admires the painted rock faces at the Colour Forest Scenic Area. (Photograph provided by the Banan District )

Fengsheng Ancient Town dates from the Ming and Qing dynasties, and concentrates various items of intangible cultural history including the Jiangjia dragon dance, Mudong folk song and the Fengsheng dance pole, which has earned the wide praise of visitors alike.

For the Laowai@Chongqing event, the windy stone slab streets of Fengsheng hosted multiple stalls featuring cultural products such as sugar painting, leaf carvings, plasticene models, wooden implements and cooked lima beans, which allowed overseas guests to experience authentic local culture and the glamour of traditional heritage.