International Youth in Wuqing: Journey Through Past and Present to Explore Culture and Treasures

Video Production: Qiang Yufei, Yang Yi

From August 13 to 20, the "Encounter the Grand Canal" Cultural and Creative Market series was jointly hosted by the Culture and Tourism Bureaus of Wuqing District (Tianjin), Tongzhou District (Beijing), and Langfang City (Hebei). On the evening of August 15, four international youth from Indonesia, Venezuela, and Guatemala formed a "Tianjin Culture Experience Team" and visited the Wuqing District Museum, embarking on a unique cultural journey through time.

Chinese youth and Wuqing cultural tourism staff welcome the international visitors at Wuqing Museum

Photo by Liu Juncang

Staff introduce the functions and symbolism of sachets to the international youth

Photo by Liu Juncang

Upon arrival, the international youth felt the warm welcome. At the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei cultural booth, staff introduced the craftsmanship, functions, and symbolic meanings of traditional sachets. They also taught them how to weave red bracelets symbolizing good luck. Working in harmony, the youth quickly completed their bracelets, adding charm and blessings to their wrists. Afterwards, the staff helped them dress in Tang-style costumes, transformed into a treasure-hunting team, received their "imperial passes," and entered "Yongyang City" to begin their museum challenge adventure.

International youth visiting Wuqing Museum

Photo by Liu Juncang

International youth at the "Golden Pavilion of Flowing Hair," trying to make Yang Guifei laugh

Photo by Liu Juncang

At the "Golden Pavilion of Flowing Hair," the youth encountered Yang Guifei, one of China's legendary Four Beauties. Gentle and graceful, she was talented in music and dance and beloved by Emperor Xuanzong of Tang. Their first challenge was to make her laugh. Venezuelan participants Li Chana and Wu Ruilong tried but failed. After learning more about Yang Guifei's life, Wu Ruilong suddenly had an idea: he praised her in fluent Chinese, and when that didn't work, he switched to English, "You're beautiful and pretty!" Finally, Yang Guifei couldn't help but laugh, and the team passed the first challenge.

International youth reciting classical poetry

Photo by Liu Juncang

"Nice to meet you!" At the entrance to the second challenge, "Hall of Talents," a scholar greeted the international youth in fluent English. This round was a poetry duel. Holding a scroll, the scholar recited classical verses line by line. Although Guatemalan youth Li Hongyang and Venezuelan youth Wu Ruilong had a good command of Chinese, they were defeated several times. Reflecting on their mistakes, the group divided tasks—some recording the characters, others practicing pronunciation. After repeated attempts, they finally succeeded in reciting Li Bai's famous Tang poem Quiet Night Thoughts.

International youth at the "Fortune Table" dice challenge

Photo by Liu Juncang

The third challenge, the "Fortune Table," introduced the international youth to traditional Chinese dice for the first time. After the “table master” explained the rules, they quickly grasped the game of guessing big or small totals and passed the challenge smoothly.

A youth volunteer introduces Yangcun rice cakes, a local Wuqing snack, to the international visitors

Photo by Liu Juncang

Riding on their momentum, the team arrived at the next stop, "Laughing Apothecary." There they met a girl who spoke fluent English. She introduced Wuqing's intangible cultural heritage foods—Yangcun rice cakes and roasted vegetarian chicken—and tested them with a quiz. Indonesian youth Xi Yinping sampled the rice cake while asking questions. The girl explained that Yangcun rice cakes are a signature pastry of Yangcun, Wuqing, originating in the Yongle era of the Ming dynasty. Derived from cloud cakes, they are a product of canal culture. Made mainly from high-quality rice and sugar, through over ten processes such as soaking, grinding, sieving, fermenting, shaping, and steaming, the cakes are soft, chewy, fragrant, easy to digest, nourishing, and sweet to the taste.

International youth successfully pass a challenge

Photo by Liu Juncang

At the final stage, the "Studio of Brush and Mountains," the youth, guided by a master artist, made gourd-patterned fans and decorative "Fu" ornaments while learning their auspicious meanings. After collecting all their stamps, they unveiled the museum's treasured artifact—the Qing dynasty Famille Rose Deer Deer-Head Zun—and successfully completed the treasure hunt.

International youth show their prizes—gifts from Wuqing

Photo by Liu Juncang

The Wuqing District Museum, located inside the Cultural Park, is open to the public free of charge all year round. In recent years, it has introduced creative activities such as interactive "scripted challenges" and live intangible heritage showcases, which have been warmly welcomed by visitors. The international youth said they had gained much from this trip to Wuqing and hoped to return with friends to further explore its profound cultural heritage and unique charm of traditional Chinese culture. (By Liu Yifei)