30 international students engage in immersive cultural activities in Xiangtan, Hunan. (Photo provided by Hunan Library)
  
They first visited Wanlou, a 400-year-old tower dating from the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644). With the help of a metaverse digital exhibition system, the students learned about Xiangtan's urban development history and experienced the city's blend of ancient charm and modern cultural tourism, gaining a deeper understanding of Xiangtan's rich cultural heritage.
 
As the Mid-Autumn Festival approaches, the organizer specially arranged an intangible cultural heritage workshop on making Hunan embroidery sachets for the international students. Taking Xiangtan's specialty lotus seeds as their design inspiration, they embroidered lotus patterns, filled the sachets with aromatic herbs, and wrote down festive wishes, immersing themselves in the beauty of Hunan embroidery craftsmanship and Eastern folk customs. "Chinese sachets are very distinctive. They smell fragrant and are good for health," said Kato David, a Ugandan graduate student at Xiangtan University. He hoped to take this special gift back to his country so his family and friends could experience the charm of traditional Chinese handicrafts.

International students learn about the nearly 300-year-old traditional soy sauce brewing technique. (Photo provided by Hunan Library)

The international students also visited the century-old Longpai Food Industrial Park, learning about the traditional soy sauce brewing technique that has been preserved for nearly 300 years. Inside the park, 16,000 traditional ceramic vats were neatly arranged, forming a rare scene of open-air "sun-dew" natural fermentation. Guided by a staff member, the international students learned about 22 ancient soy sauce brewing processes, including material selection, starter-making, fermentation, and oil extraction, and tried their hand at "scooping soy sauce," experiencing the cultural heritage of Hunan cuisine and the craftsman spirit of excellence embodied in China's time-honored brands.

During the activity, the international students actively exchanged views on intangible cultural heritage preservation, food culture, and local customs, sharing their insights and experiences in Chinese. Zhan Xinfu, an Indonesian student from Hunan University of Science and Technology, said this immersive experience not only boosted his confidence in expressing himself in Chinese but also helped him gain a more vivid and well-rounded understanding of Hunan's local customs and traditional Chinese culture.

According to Hunan Library, the event organizer, in the future, the library will continue to  enhance the signature brand of the "Hunan Library Chinese Corner" through regular cross-cultural exchange activities, aiming to build a friendly bridge for mutual learning among foreign youths, spread fine traditional Chinese culture, and promote exchanges and mutual learning among Chinese and foreign civilizations.

This article is from Hunan Provincial Government. www.enghunan.gov.cn.

Translator: Pang Yuehui

Chinese source: Chinanews