International Students Experience Spring Folk Customs at Cangma Mountain Village: Foreign Affairs Builds Bridges, Townships Create Stages

On March 2nd, the "Foreign Affairs Builds Bridges, Townships Create Stages" Spring Folk Custom Experience Event for international students was successfully held at Cangma Mountain Village in Cangma Town, Qingdao West Coast New Area. Organized by the Foreign Affairs Office of the New Area Party Working Committee and hosted by the Cangma Town Party Committee and Government, with active participation from Qingdao Huanghai University, international students from the university's International Education College immersed themselves in traditional Chinese New Year customs and experienced the unique charm of Chinese culture up close.
Exploring Intangible Heritage and Folk Customs: A Vibrant Cultural Exchange
The event began with students visiting a Spring Festival intangible cultural heritage exhibition, where exquisite New Year paintings, paper-cuts, and dough figurines silently told stories of Shandong's traditional customs. Following this, the Xiaolingzi Jin Hua Art Troupe performed Jiaodong yangge dance and Cangma drum shows, with resounding drumbeats instantly igniting the atmosphere. Upon enthusiastic invitation from the performers, the international students joined in the interactive activities—learning yangge dance steps and trying their hands at drumming—experiencing the infectious power of Chinese folk customs amid laughter and cheers.
Making Flower Buns and Cutting Window Paper: Immersive Experiences of Chinese New Year
In the Party Member Activity Room and Cadre Lecture Hall, students participated in group folk custom workshops. Under the guidance of pastry chefs, they kneaded dough and filled pastries, handcrafting tangyuan (sweet rice balls) and flower buns symbolizing family reunion. A paper-cutting instructor taught them to create festive window decorations, while in the calligraphy room, they picked up brushes to write various styles of the character "Fu" (blessing). Before colorful lantern riddles, students contemplated carefully, deciphering auspicious meanings behind the puzzles with translation assistance. Within just two hours, participants concluded their journey of Chinese New Year cultural exploration, leaving with handmade folk artworks and rich cultural insights.
This event effectively integrated foreign affairs resources with grassroots cultural platforms through a "Foreign Affairs + Township" collaborative model, creating a window for international friends to perceive and understand China. Moving forward, the New Area Party Working Committee Foreign Affairs Office will continue leveraging its bridging role, drawing upon the area's abundant folk cultural resources to empower rural revitalization through culture, serve high-quality local development, and help establish the New Area as an open, inclusive, and distinctive calling card for international exchange.