Foreigners in Shanghai celebrate Lantern Festival by experiencing Kunqu Opera, paper-cutting
Making dough figurines, paper-cutting and enjoying traditional Chinese operas, a group of foreigners in Shanghai including some diplomats, teachers and students have spent a good time at the Shanghai Kunqu Opera Theater during the Lantern Festival, which fell on February 5, Sunday this year, the traditional Chinese festival for family reunion.
They gathered at the booths showcasing the traditional culture relics to learn the art of paper-cutting and dough figurines. Andrew Bissonnette, a teacher from Shanghai American School, who has spent the Chinese New Year in Shanghai for three years also tried paper-cutting.
During the Kunqu Opera performance, the host introduced the materials of precious opera costumes and each part's different functions. Bissonnette also actively participated in the interaction game to put on the opera costumes and imitate the opera moves with one actor, winning the applause of the audience. "I know the Lantern Festival is time for Chinese family reunion," Bissonnette told the Global Times on Sunday.
"I've really enjoyed being part of the cultural event today with my wife and other people, learning a lot about the different types of opera and some of the stories of the opera style, about different traditions in the history of China," said Bissonnette.
The Lantern Festival offered a great opportunity for people to pick up the traditional cultural relics. In 2001, Kunqu Opera was inscribed in UNESCO's list of "masterpieces of the oral and intangible heritage of humanity."
"It was amazing that the make-up process was very complex. From make-up, performances and actions, the whole process was very interesting," said Tong, a student from Laos, who was dressed-up as one of the opera characters Cao Cao, a historical figure in China.
"The New Year brings about a fresh start. I firmly believe that international exchange will fully recover in the coming year and our economy will rebound very strongly," Chen Jing, President of the Shanghai People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, said at the event on Sunday.
Despite that Bissonnette hasn't seen his family for three years due to the impact of the pandemic, still he said that it "also provided us a lot of opportunities in the last three years to visit places within China that we probably wouldn't have seen before."
Folk culture shines
The Global Times reporter also saw the bustling scene at Shanghai's Yuyuan Garden, the annual lantern festival, one of China's national intangible cultural heritages attracted a large number of visitors this year. The snack booths were crowded with customers. To maintain order, the organizer set up visiting routes to guide visitors in an orderly manner.
At Changning Folk Culture Center in Shanghai on Sunday, the Global Times saw a number of children and parents engaging themselves in the fun of Chinese folk arts, making rabbit patterned paper cuttings, wooden rabbit lanterns and dough modeling, a traditional Chinese folk art using sticky rice powder blended with different colors to make vivid figurines and sculptures.
Nearly 500 visitors have booked for visits to the Lantern festival special event, the Global Times learned from the organizer of the event. There is something to see, to eat and to play, with activities set up on each floor, Zhu Yan, director with Changning District Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection Office, the organizer of the event, told the Global Times on Sunday.
On the first floor, visitors can view the process of making paper cuttings, a traditional Chinese folk art that was included in the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2009.
Also called "window design," it's when red paper is cut into patterns with scissors or carving knives, and used as decorations. Under the hands of a paper-cut artist, the colorful paper was carved out into various paper-cutting artworks themed on the Chinese zodiac rabbits within a few minutes.
On the second floor is an exhibition of Chinese zodiac paintings featuring rabbits created by students in Shanghai Hong Qiao International School. In the paintings the students unleashed their imaginations and fused the tender rabbit with expressive or decorative colors and lines. On the third floor, visitors can experience making yuanxiao or rice dumplings from flour dough, making wood rabbit lanterns, guessing lantern riddles and tasting cotton candy.
The Lantern Festival is one of the most important festivals in our Chinese tradition. We hope to hold these activities to express our wishes for the New Year, and also let our intangible cultural heritage and traditional culture light up the life of young people, Zhu said.
They gathered at the booths showcasing the traditional culture relics to learn the art of paper-cutting and dough figurines. Andrew Bissonnette, a teacher from Shanghai American School, who has spent the Chinese New Year in Shanghai for three years also tried paper-cutting.
Foreigners enjoy Kunqu Opera during the Lantern Festival on Sunday in Shanghai. Photo: Chen Xia/Global Times
During the Kunqu Opera performance, the host introduced the materials of precious opera costumes and each part's different functions. Bissonnette also actively participated in the interaction game to put on the opera costumes and imitate the opera moves with one actor, winning the applause of the audience. "I know the Lantern Festival is time for Chinese family reunion," Bissonnette told the Global Times on Sunday.
"I've really enjoyed being part of the cultural event today with my wife and other people, learning a lot about the different types of opera and some of the stories of the opera style, about different traditions in the history of China," said Bissonnette.
The Lantern Festival offered a great opportunity for people to pick up the traditional cultural relics. In 2001, Kunqu Opera was inscribed in UNESCO's list of "masterpieces of the oral and intangible heritage of humanity."
Tong, a student from Laos, was doing make-up at the Shanghai Kunqu Opera Theater on Sunday. Photo: Chen Xia/Global Times
"It was amazing that the make-up process was very complex. From make-up, performances and actions, the whole process was very interesting," said Tong, a student from Laos, who was dressed-up as one of the opera characters Cao Cao, a historical figure in China.
"The New Year brings about a fresh start. I firmly believe that international exchange will fully recover in the coming year and our economy will rebound very strongly," Chen Jing, President of the Shanghai People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, said at the event on Sunday.
Despite that Bissonnette hasn't seen his family for three years due to the impact of the pandemic, still he said that it "also provided us a lot of opportunities in the last three years to visit places within China that we probably wouldn't have seen before."
Folk culture shines
The Global Times reporter also saw the bustling scene at Shanghai's Yuyuan Garden, the annual lantern festival, one of China's national intangible cultural heritages attracted a large number of visitors this year. The snack booths were crowded with customers. To maintain order, the organizer set up visiting routes to guide visitors in an orderly manner.
At Changning Folk Culture Center in Shanghai on Sunday, the Global Times saw a number of children and parents engaging themselves in the fun of Chinese folk arts, making rabbit patterned paper cuttings, wooden rabbit lanterns and dough modeling, a traditional Chinese folk art using sticky rice powder blended with different colors to make vivid figurines and sculptures.
Nearly 500 visitors have booked for visits to the Lantern festival special event, the Global Times learned from the organizer of the event. There is something to see, to eat and to play, with activities set up on each floor, Zhu Yan, director with Changning District Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection Office, the organizer of the event, told the Global Times on Sunday.
On the first floor, visitors can view the process of making paper cuttings, a traditional Chinese folk art that was included in the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2009.
Also called "window design," it's when red paper is cut into patterns with scissors or carving knives, and used as decorations. Under the hands of a paper-cut artist, the colorful paper was carved out into various paper-cutting artworks themed on the Chinese zodiac rabbits within a few minutes.
On the second floor is an exhibition of Chinese zodiac paintings featuring rabbits created by students in Shanghai Hong Qiao International School. In the paintings the students unleashed their imaginations and fused the tender rabbit with expressive or decorative colors and lines. On the third floor, visitors can experience making yuanxiao or rice dumplings from flour dough, making wood rabbit lanterns, guessing lantern riddles and tasting cotton candy.
The Lantern Festival is one of the most important festivals in our Chinese tradition. We hope to hold these activities to express our wishes for the New Year, and also let our intangible cultural heritage and traditional culture light up the life of young people, Zhu said.
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