By Jiang Nan, Lou Xi, Ye Junyi

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Foreigners Sample Local Culture in Ningbo

By Jiang Nan, Lou Xi, Ye Junyi

Ningbo, a thriving harbor city and business engine in eastern Zhejiang, is steeped in history, culture and international trade. That is why it boasts so many cultural heritage gems inscribed at the municipal and provincial level. Toward the end of this year, foreign visitors and members of the expat community of Ningbo gathered to attend four events especially designed to showcase the best of the regional culture. The four events displayed cooking, clay paint, embroidery and Kungfu. The four events comprised what's known as “International Friends Experience Intangible Heritage of Ningbo”, a cultural program sponsored by the city's government.

點心師傅手把手地教做寧波湯圓。Expats learn how to make Tangyuan.

Cooking

On November 20, 2015, about 40 students, teachers and people engaged in other occupations from the local expat community gathered at a cooking classroom at Ningbo Tourism School. They were from about 20 countries. They were there to learn how to cook three dishes and make Tangyuan and Jiaozi.

First of all, they put on the chef's dresses： white uniform and hat. Their teacher was Shao Lin, a teacher of culinary skills at the school. The class started with Shao demonstrating the cooking process of three dishes： croaker wrapped in tofu skin, prawns and pineapple, and beef cooked in oyster oil. The demonstration proceeded step by step, with tips carefully explained. Many of the expats had never seen a chef cooking Ningbo dishes. Right before their eager and attentive eyes, Shao demonstrated. He was patient and thorough, covering all the details. He especially cautioned his international students to use the kitchen knife safely.

Then a pastry cook came on to teach how to make Ningbo Tangyuan （sticky rice ball with sweet stuffing） and Jiaozi. The international students learned how to make the stuffing with black sesame, fat and sugar, how to make rice ball with glutinous rice flour.

After the demonstrations were over, the expats tried their hands at cooking the three dishes and making Tangyuan and Jiaozi. The classroom was large enough for all the work. The teachers walked around, watching, instructing, and correcting.

After all the dishes, Tangyuan and Jiaozi served, the expats tried the food they had prepared. Some used the chopsticks expertly and some awkwardly. They were very proud of the food they had made.

The class ended with a tea performance. Music played, girls demonstrated how to make a cup of tea in the local way.

Applying Clay Paints to Lacquer

On December 4, 2015, 60 plus expats from about 30 countries gathered at Red Peony on the Yinzhou campus of Ningbo University to take a special course in clay paint, a local handicraft inscribed in 2011 on the national list of intangible heritage.

The clay paint is dated back to Hemudu Culture which is more than 7,000 years ago. Gold or silver foils are ground to powder, and then the powder is mixed with paints to form something called clay paints. The clay paints are applied usually to wood furniture as well as ceramics.

Chen Huamin, a master of arts and crafts, gave a lecture and demonstration on the traditional technique. After the lecture and demonstration, the expats wasted no time to try their hands at applying the colors to the peonies drawn on white ceramic plates. After two hours, all of them completed their first coloring process and each ceramic plate had a peony painted in gold. They showed their first work happily and proudly.

A closing ceremony was held when this year's program came to an end. Gillian, an Australian woman, and Konstantin, a Ukrainian teacher with Ningbo Institute of Technology, were awarded Special Contribution Prize. Some international friends were honored with awards for excellent work and excellent organization. The prizes were issued at the ceremony.