During the Dragon Boat Festival, our college carefully planned a cultural feast integrating natural exploration and thousand-year-old folk customs for the teachers and students of Almaty Polytechnic College in Kazakhstan who were participating in the information security technology application training program. When the grassland style of Eid al-Adha meets the fragrance of artemisia leaves in the Oriental Dragon Boat Festival, the international students started a cultural dialogue spanning thousands of miles in the Ou-River of Yandang Mountain, and experienced the vivid practice of people-to-people bonds along the “Belt and Road”.

Tracing the Dragon Boat: Intangible Heritage from Museum to Competition Venue

At the Dragon Boat Sports Center in Ouhai District, Wenzhou, the international students experienced the surging passion of the national intangible cultural heritage “Dragon Boat Race” up close. In the Wenzhou Dragon Boat Culture Museum, from the racing ornaments on the bronze Yue of the Warring States period to the trophies of modern international competitions, from the three-dimensional “Dragon Pond Racing Map” painted by colored clay to the dragon head and dragon file made by the cumbersome gold lacquer painting process, the thousand-year-old dragon boat culture is vividly presented in the historical relics and digital exhibitions. As a “famous dragon boat city in China”, Wenzhou has a deep impression on the international students due to its indissoluble fate and long cultural history with dragon boats. As the origin of the Dragon Boat Festival, the story of Qu Yuan in the museum moved the international students. Through professional explanations, they had an in-depth understanding of the dragon boat making process and competitive spirit, and felt the strong characteristics of the Dragon Boat Festival culture. The teachers and students in Kazakhstan also experienced the “speed and passion” of dragon boat racing through the “Rapids” rowing simulator. Experience the interaction between dragon boat racing and drum rhythm through the voice-activated device of “Dragon Boat Racing and Drumming”.

▲Group photo at Dragon Boat Sports Center

▲Group Photo at Dragon Boat Culture Museum

▲Visit the Dragon Boat Culture Museum

Landscape Dragon Boat Festival: Oriental festivals Among the Yangdang Mountains

Walking into the Global Geopark ------ Yandang Mountain, international students appreciated the aesthetics of Chinese landscapes in the fantasy artistic conception of the night view of Lingfeng. The Dragon Boat Festival tin cake (also known as “wheat fried”) theme dinner became a cultural classroom: they wrapped more than a dozen delicious meat and vegetable side dishes in a thin and soft crust and tasted the traditional food of Yandang Mountain. The most enthusiastic is the game of “egg bumping” - international students hold duck egg net bags woven with colored ropes, and collide and compete in laughter. The abundant activities are all interpretations of the ancient wisdom of epidemic prevention and blessing. Kazakh student Abilkassym Miras happily said: “The tin cake feast is so fun! Everyone rolls and chats together, and it feels like a family. The egg game made me feel the charm of traditional Chinese culture, and this unique festival custom gave me a deeper understanding of Chinese culture. ”

▲International students experience the game of “egg bumping”

▲Group photo in Yandang Mountain

The New Rhyme of the Old Street: the Folk Code in the Ancient Alley of Wutian Street

On the blue-stone pavement of Wutian Old Street, the stunt of the Sichuan Opera face-changing master caused bursts of exclamations. The international students shuttled through the century-old pharmacy and cultural and creative shops, tried Songhua cake, experienced wooden movable type printing, and were attracted by the citizens wearing traditional costumes who came and went on the street, and came forward to exchange and take photos. The interweaving of traditional and modern light and shadow brings a new experience to international students.

▲Walked along the Wutian Street

Mutual Learning Between Cultures: Injecting Humanistic Warmth Into the “Digital Silk Road”

“This Dragon Boat Festival cultural study is an important humanistic supplement to information security technology application training.” The relevant person in charge of the International Exchange and Cooperation Center said. When the young people of Kazakhstan felt the spirit of synergy in the rudder position of the simulated dragon boat, and understood the concept of harmony in the game of egg collision, the cultural identity laid a solid foundation for the technical cooperation of the “China-Kazakhstan Silk Road Institute”. The university will continue to build a dual-track model of “technical training and cultural infiltration”, so that the “Belt and Road” education cooperation can be stable and far-reaching in the dialogue between civilizations.

    The fragrance of wormwood lingers in the Yandang landscape, and the dragon boat drum beats stir Wutian Ancient Lane. The rice dumplings hand-wrapped by the Kazakh students will carry the blessings of Dong-Ou and become the latest witness of China-Kazakhstan friendship. When the information security code meets the Dragon Boat Festival cultural code, this dialogue across mountains and seas is depicting the warmest humanistic background for the “Digital Belt and Road”.

Drafted by: Ye Zi