Recently, a lively Lantern Festival event characteristic of intangible cultural heritages was held in Ganpu, a town of Haiyan. Tourists from South Korea, Iraq, Costa Rica, etc. were attracted to experience local traditional intangible cultural heritages.

The event kicked off with a vibrant dragon dance performance. Dressed  in bright costumes, the female dragon dance team airily maneuvered an 18-meter-long dragon, symbolizing the auspicious dragon above their heads conveying the blessings to everyone present.

Feng Sai, a 24-years-old student from Costa Rica, majored in International Chinese Education at Zhejiang University and learned the basic steps and movements of the dragon dance under the guidance of her teacher. “I’ve studied the lion dance before, and their movements are quite similar. It’s really interesting,” said Feng Sai.

In addition to experiencing the dragon dance, tourists also learned to make rolling lanterns and practice dyeing fabric. The dye, made from indigo roots, was used to color silk, creating an eco-friendly and aesthetically pleasing effect and catching everyone’s attention. “There are many intangible cultural heritage elements here that I’ve never seen before. When I return to South Korea, I’ll introduce the customs and culture to my family and friends. Definitely, I’ll come back if I have the chance,” said Li Zeyu, an advertising major at Zhejiang Gongshang University.

Including dragon dance performances, rolling lantern making, fabric dyeing, rubbing techniques and visiting local intangible cultural heritage museums, this event was organized by Ganpu to share and disseminate Haiyan’s intangible cultural heritages in a fun and engaging way.

In the days ahead, Haiyan will work harder to disseminate local cultural activities globally such as “Townwalk in the Ancient Town” “Citrus Picking Season” and “Hiking Festival” and tell local stories to more people by inviting international students and influencers to participate.