China's Chongqing invites foreigners to experience local lifestyle and culture

A ceremony marking the beginning of activities for foreigners to experience the local lifestyle and culture was held in Banan District of southwest China's Chongqing Municipality on Thursday.

A total of 31 foreigners who work and live in Chongqing participated in the activities on Thursday, before the upcoming Dragon Boat Festival which will fall on June 14 this year.

They made zongzi or glutinous rice dumplings, carried out the intangible cultural heritage performances, and visited the original ancient town.

Under the guidance of local residents, foreigners learned to make zongzi with various fillings such as glutinous rice, mung beans, and pork belly wrapped in bamboo or reed leaves.

Foreigners from countries such as Benin, Bangladesh, Ukraine and Russia learned some local arts from the inheritors of intangible cultural heritage, such as Mudong folk songs in Banan District, Yanxing paper-cuts in Dadukou District, and the pyrography, the Chinese art of creating pictures with hot irons, in Jiulongpo District.

"Up to now, Banan District has two state-level intangible cultural heritage items, such as Mudong folk songs, 13 municipal intangible cultural heritage items and 65 district-level intangible cultural heritage items," said an official of Banan District, adding that Banan District has rich cultural and tourism resources, laying a solid foundation for foreigners to have fun here.

It is the third time for Chongqing to hold such activities themed "foreigners @Chongqing", with more than 1,214 foreign participants in total.