Foreign Diplomatic Envoys and Friends’ Joyful Lantern Festival in Chengdu

The traditional annual Lantern Festival fell on February 17. A celebration was held in Chengdu entitled “2011 Friendship Spring—Rural Pujiang”， and was jointly sponsored by the Sichuan Provincial People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries， the Chengdu Municipal People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries and the Pujiang County People’s Government. Diplomats from Germany， Pakistan， the United States and Sri Lanka based in Chengdu and foreign friends living in Sichuan spent a typical Lantern Festival together with local people.

Picking oranges and experiencing country life in the New Year. When warm sunshine flooded the citrus orchard in Pujiang， a group of “foreign farmers” began working busily. “It is the first time we tasted such fresh fruits. They are so delicious!” Having tasted just-picked oranges， the foreign friends took up their scissors and started picking fruit under the guidance of the local growers. Soon， everyone had filled a full basket. To them， the rare experience of a country life was the most unforgettable part of the experience.

Eating jiaozi (dumplings)， a simple Chinese-style lunch. At noon， guests and hosts came to the dinning hall where the staff of the county government had prepared new clothing for the festivala Tang jacket (traditional Chinese costume)― for the foreign guests. Red and dark purple Tang jackets and the Chinese knots and red lanterns in the hall enhanced the festive atmosphere. After putting on their jackets， these “foreign farmers” immediately looked very “Chinese”. The food served at lunch were jiaozi and tangyuan (sweet rice dumplings). The foreign guests cheered when they saw steaming jiaozi brought onto the table. “I like this kind of stuffed food. They are as delicious as pies!” There were dumplings with different fillings: pork with leek， beef with celery and mutton with green Chinese onion， each with its own special flavor. The “foreign farmers” were really hungry after their morning labor.

Writing Spring Festival couplets， and an American painter demonstrates his skill on the spot. After lunch， foreign friends began to learn to write Spring Festival couplets ― an indispensable traditional ornament for the Chinese Spring Festival.

Imitating what the Chinese calligrapher on the spot was doing， a German expert took a writing brush and wrote a couplet “Hundreds of flowers are blooming fragrantly when spring returns to the good earth.” “Beautiful!” “Good!” Other foreign guests were so envious of him when they saw the couplet and they began to copy his work.

When everyone was practicing calligraphy， an American painter， a professor at the College of Art of Sichuan University， began drawing. Soon a picture showing the scene of the “foreign farmers” picking oranges was completed. “This is a scene of what we did this morning. I wish to give it to Pujiang County as a gift for the festival，” he said. He had only arrived in Chengdu last August， but already loved the city. “I like the traditional culture and beautiful natural scenery here. I wish I could turn them into eternal paintings with my hands so that more people could see “what a miraculous city Chengdu is!”

Tangyuan and folklore activities celebrating the Lantern Festival. The folklore activities in the afternoon and evening really made everyone crazy about Chinese traditions， and pushed the celebration to a climax. “Can I beat the drum?” an Indian expert from Guangya School asked when he saw the German expert running to the drum-beating site. He imitated what the German expert was doing and learned to beat the big Chinese drum with the master’s help. When the audience saw two foreigners suddenly appear in the drum team， they laughed. After the drum beating， the performance teams from various villages and towns began to present dazzling performances one after another: walking on stilts， imitating an old-style wedding ceremony， playing waist drums， lion dances…These performances were very interesting for the foreign friends， as it was the first time that they saw these wonderful folk customs. They said that now they learned that Chinese festivals are so full of fun and excitement that they would surely come to join in the fan next year.

It was a difficult job to wrap the stuffing into the white glutinous rice flour， but the foreigners eventually learned to make tangyuan from the locals. Though the tangyuan they made were in different sizes and shapes and not so round， they still learn to make them in high spirit and soon made a big heap of them. The steaming tangyuan fresh from the cooker made everyone’s mouth water.

In the evening， after enjoying floating river lanterns， the German Counsel General in Chengdu said: “This is the first time that I have experienced such a colorful traditional Chinese new year since I came to China three years ago. In the future I want to take part in more activities like this so that I will learn more about the traditional Chinese culture.”