中国·福州——热爱城市从热爱美食开始

May 31 was the Dragon Boat Festival, and Fuzhou’s Drum Mountain and Kuliang Scenic Areas hosted a series of vibrant traditional cultural and children’s carnival events. Citizens, tourists, families with children, and international friends were invited to appreciate blooming hydrangeas in Kuliang Changtian Huaxi Valley, taste blessing zongzi under cool breezes and lush greenery, and experience Dragon Boat Festival customs such as applying realgar and weaving five-colored cords. Visitors also explored the art of ink rubbings among thousand-year-old cliff carvings, which deepens mutual cultural exchange and appreciation.

International students learn how to wrap zongzi at Kuliang (photo provided by the organizer)

Lu Yin once described Kuliang in her essay To the Old Master of Plum Blossom Retreat, noting that “Kuliang in summer is a world of coolness, a perfect summer retreat”. Today, more than 100,000 hydrangeas are in full bloom across Kuliang, transforming the romantic landscape into a poetic scene. A century ago, this very season marked the start of the vacation period in Kuliang, when expatriate families would retreat to the mountains to escape the summer heat. Over time, Kuliang evolved into a renowned international summer resort.

“It looks simple, but it’s really not easy!” said one international student as they followed the guidance of volunteers, carefully filling glutinous rice into folded bamboo leaves and tying them with colored string to make a barely passable zongzi, drawing cheers from the onlookers. On the morning of May 31, the themed event “Child Joy at Kuliang, Zongzi Savoring in the Delightful Summer” took place at the Cultural Plaza of Kuliang Food Street. The folk culture activities drew the attention of over 20 international students from countries including Nigeria and Thailand. As students from the Overseas Education College of Fujian Medical University, they interacted warmly with Kuliang locals while immersing themselves in the charm of Chinese traditional culture by experiencing traditional customs such as wrapping zongzi, applying realgar, braiding five-colored cords, making sachets, and shooting five kinds of poisonous insects.

Eating zongzi during the Dragon Boat Festival embodies a thousand-year tradition of blessing. On May 31, the festival’s traditional cultural event “Fragrant Zongzi at Drum Mountain, Blessings Flowing Like Springs” officially commenced. At locations such as the square of Drum Mountain Lower Temple and the scenic lookout platform, visitors received 10,000 carefully prepared “blessing zongzi” from volunteers of Yongquan Temple. As they savored the soft, fragrant dumplings, visitors felt the warmth of Fuzhou, a city of good fortune, and gained a flavorful memory of the Dragon Boat Festival.

In addition to blessing zongzi giveaways, the event featured interactive experience zones dedicated to Dragon Boat Festival traditional customs, Children’s Day elements, and Drum Mountain’s cliff carving culture. Parents and children worked together to try their hand at the traditional craft of stone rubbing from cliff carvings. (Zhu Rong, Reporter of Fuzhou Daily)