Chongqing Banan: Foreigner Participants visiting Shitan Town and experiencing traditional culture there

On June 14th, the 5th stage of the “Foreigners @Chongqing Rural Area Visiting” event was held in Shitan Town, Banan District. Many foreigner participants, which came from Korea, Ethiopia, and England, have experienced traditional cultures and the result of rural areas rebuilds events in Banan district thoroughly.

Foreigner participants took a picture together Photo: Tian Yubing

During that day, all foreign participants enjoyed the significant scenery of the Jigong Mountain while driving around Shitan Town and they all very appreciated it. After that, they had a little competition of making Chinese rice pudding, they then listened to a very beautiful performance of “Guqin”, which is a traditional Chinese string instrument. At Shitan ecology park, all foreign participants learned how to write calligraphy, they thought it was too hard for them at first, but still managed to wrote down “I love China” “Chongqing” “a beautiful city with mountains and rivers” in Chinese.

A Korean participant showing the Chinese rice pudding he just made Photo: Tian Yubing

In the afternoon that day, all foreign participants learned how to sing “the sky turned red after the sunrise” with Mudong folk song singer Shirui. Mudong folk song is a Chinese intangible cultural heritage, even the pronunciation of Chinese was pretty hard for foreigners, but they were still very enthusiastically. “Teaching foreigners to sing Mudong folk songs in the rural area in Banan district was a very unique way to introduce our intangible cultural heritage to the world,” Shirui said.

Foreign participant learning how to sing Mudong folk song with Shirui (right) Photo: Tian Yubing

At the end of the event, all foreign participants felt very satisfied and left compliment words in their travel notes. The event will hold every weekend until September, during the event, participants can also take pictures, make vlogs, and write travel notes to join a competition. Foreigners who interested in the event can send an email to bntqw@126.com or call 66231839 to sign up for future events.