Touring Yunnan at GDUFS---FCLC Chinese Culture Festival

On the afternoon of May 21st, a Chinese Culture Festival, held by the Faculty of Chinese Language and Culture, attracted hundreds of students at the Atrium of the 6th Teaching Building. Because of the rainy weather, the festival which was planned to be held at the main street of GDUFS had to change location. However, the rain didn’t extinguish student enthusiasm but immersed them with great happiness.

Unique Yunnan Peacock Dance Dance

With the theme Yunnan: The Paradise of China, the Chinese Culture Festival focused on showing six dimensions of Yunnan’s culture, including its’ landscape, arts, customs, foods, history and the great figures of Yunnan. Yunnan is distinguished from other provinces for the great number of minorities living there and their unique cultures. Thus, the festival showed a feast of the diverse, vigorous and colorful Yunnan culture.

The opening ceremony began with the famous Peacock Dance, a kind of unique dance imitating the peacocks as they emblem the beauty and the flexibility of the female body. The second performance was a piece of music played with a Chinese traditional instrument, the cucurbit flute. Following was a model show of clothing of various of Yunnan’s minorities. The fourth part was a martial arts performance carried by a top gold winner of martial arts and a young player. A Chinese comic dialogue was the fifth performance and brought laughter to the audience. The last performance led the ceremony to a highlight as a local Yunnan student, known as “Brother”, wherein LUO Hang sang with great passion.

A young player performing Chinese Martial

The Chinese Culture Festival, similar to the other festivals held at GDUFS, set a number of stalls to exhibit the culture in Yunnan. The food, while excellent, was by no means the essential or leading part of the festival. Cooked or made by the students of FCLC, the extraordinary foods were various and represented the range of local flavors. The well-known cookie stuffed with flowers was a shining star among Yunnan’s special local snacks.

Students preparing food themselves

Delicate handcrafts and postcards also won visitors’ praise. Students could either purchase or play games at the stalls to gain the awards. Among the games, a quiz about Yunnan’s culture was the most popular. The game, which offered a channel for students to learn about the knowledge of Yunnan, was highly popular. One of the greatest features of the Chinese Culture Festival was that visitors could get a stamp at each stall by playing games or purchasing things. Coupons were given according to the stamps visitors obtained.

Exquisite handicrafts at the stall

Decorations made to attract visitors

The majority of the students present thought highly of the festival. A student of FCLC excitedly showed us the handicrafts and the coupons she won by playing games. To further study Chinese culture, some foreigners also went to the festival. Ejima, a Japanese girl learning Chinese literature at GDUFS, and Emilio, a young man from Mexico, told us that they were impressed by the splendid performances and had fun playing the games. They hoped there would be more activities for international students to learn about Chinese language and culture.

Numerous students at the festival

“Brother” LUO Hang delighted the festival