On November 7th, a unique experience activity on Liaoning intangible cultural heritage was held at Hübschmann·Zhan School, where German elementary school students immersed themselves in learning skills such as paper cutting, dough modelling, and mooncake making, celebrating a joyful gathering of Liaoning's intangible cultural heritage.
Feng Yuanping, the inheritor of Shenyang Feng Yuanping creative paper-cutting workshop, Yu Qiquan, the inheritor of Shenyang Yu's dough modelling workshop, and Hua Xiaoping, the inheritor of traditional mooncake making workshop, were invited to introduce the historical development of traditional handicrafts of intangible cultural heritage as well as their production processes to the Chinese and foreign students and their parents in this school.
Anton, a German pupil, fixed his eyes on Mr. Yu's hands, carefully observing how he shaped lifelike sculptures one after another with the dough, and kneaded the white and black doughs together with his classmates. Through kneading, rolling, and pressing, they successfully made sculptures of cute little pandas. Mr. Yu also made a sculpture of Anton on the spot within just several minutes, which amazed the children at the scene.
Paper cutting also appealed to this group of foreign students. German student Paulina Rivera was learning to cut a beautiful butterfly out of red paper, and she also wanted to cut a rainbow - a symbol of the friendship between China and Germany. Her mother, Paola Chapa, said excitedly, “This is the first time my daughter and I have learned Chinese paper cutting. With a pair of scissors and a piece of red paper, we can create all sorts of patterns. It's just amazing!”
Civilizations learn from each other through exchanges and develop through mutual learning. By introducing intangible cultural heritage into the school, the activity allowed foreign students to feel the unique charm of traditional Chinese culture through their appreciation and experience, and enhanced their understanding of Chinese culture and their love for China.
