Young expats get great Dragon Boat Festival vibes in Tai'an

[Video by Zha Zhonghao and Liu Jing for chinadaily.com.cn]

Nine expat students from Shandong First Medical University paid a visit on June 14 to the Daiyue district of Tai'an city – in East China's Shandong province – to get to know all about the traditional charms of the Dragon Boat Festival.

Tai'an is the birthplace of the Neolithic Dawenkou Culture, a place where the earliest engraved texts in China were found. In the Dawenkou Site Museum, a sense of what this culture was about is depicted using various methods such as fixed diorama scenes of daily living and multi-media presentations.

Rapt attention: It's all ears, as the students pay a visit to the Dawenkou Site Museum. [Photo by Zha Zhonghao and Wu Yi for chinadaily.com.cn]

Foreign student Wang Le – his Chinese name – said that he was just fascinated by the ancient culture and hoped to return some day to learn much more.

Later, locals taught the visitors how wrap zongzi, traditional sticky rice dumplings, by the local Dawen River.

Another student, Zhao Yun – his Chinese name – said he was particularly interested in seeing the materials used for zongzi – glutinous rice, reed leaves and stuffing – as he started to learn how to make them. "I like making zongzi. It's so interesting," he added.

Hanging embroidered purses is another festive tradition during the Dragon Boat Festival. Wang Le placed a small amount of spices into a sachet, with his embroidered purse emitting the alluring scent of Ay Tsao.

"I enjoy these activities, as I can learn about traditional Chinese culture," said a foreign student, whose Chinese name is Mei Ai. (Edited by Chen Chuxuan)

Hands on: Students have a ball, learning how to make zongzi. [Photo by Zha Zhonghao and Wu Yi for chinadaily.com.cn]