As the 2018 National Day is approaching, on Sep. 22, the reporter learned from the Cultural Block of Shihu Garden in Weifang City that, to reproduce the essence of history and culture, to prepare a feast of intangible heritage for our citizens during the National Day, the “2018 Shihu Garden Intangible Heritage Carnival”, sponsored by the Propaganda Department of CPC Weicheng District Party Committee, is going to be held in the Cultural Block of Shihu Garden from Sep. 30 to Oct. 7. The reporter also learned that it will be an interesting activity focusing on popularization and exhibition of intangible cultural heritage, and create a new highland in Weifang City to exhibit our achievements in this field by forms of food, experience of intangible heritage, special products, cooking show, arts show, rural products exhibition and sales, and popularization of cultural and creative products, in order to ensure a wonderful and unique National Day for our citizens.
The best part of the activity, “Skills of Hundreds of Craftsmen” Intangible Heritage Cultural and Creative Bazaar exhibits and sells various intangible heritage articles embodying traditional life habits and highlighting folk customs, such as rosewood works embedded with silver decorations, decorative articles of New Year panting, traditional Laomao festive lanterns, Weifang embroidery products, Gaomi tiger shoes, Binzhou coarse cloth, silk bandhnu, Fangyuan paper cutting, Weifang flour sculpture, painting on bottle gourd, grass/ withy weaving, and cloth toys, etc. Meanwhile, inheritors will demonstrate their skills with intangible heritage projects to build an intangible heritage bazaar of exhibition and exchange.
On the “South and North Styles” China Joint Exhibition of Walnut Sculpturing Arts, the sponsor will bring together classical works from Suzhou, the representative of South School, and from Weifang, the representative of South School in Chinese walnut sculpturing arts, in order to promote the exchange and integration between the south and the north cultures, to show the wonders of skills of sculpturing on dentoliva and walnut, reinforce the amicable interaction among artists in this field, and allow speculators to further understand and appreciate the sophistication and profoundness of walnut sculpturing arts. Moreover, “Color Intangible Heritage” Folk Customs and Arts Shows are also presented. The sponsor has invited various shows from different places, varying from folk customs to traditional drama, singing and dance to moving cultural shows, such as Elevating “Xinzi”, acrobatics, Mao opera, face changing, shadow play, kylin dance from Wazi Village, bamboo horse from Xiaozhang Village, playing with butterfly, and shuttlecocks kicking from Qingzhou, dragon lantern from Weixian, diabolo, tom-tom of Anqiu East Road, and tom-tom of Changyi Xihe are presented on the Grand Stage and Central Square of Wenchang Pavilion, and by the south gate of the Block. All citizens may enjoy them in Shihu Garden free of charge.
To shorten the distance between our next generation and intangible heritage, the parent-children experience activity of “Inheritance” is arranged at the site to realize interactions between inheritors and protectors of intangible heritage with parents and children, so that participants can experience the history, culture, and local customs behind them, and the charms underlying. Moreover, an intangible heritage handicraft experience area is set up on site and opened to teenagers and children free of charge as our encouragements to the interactive experience between parents and children, and to bring intangible heritage out of showcases.
One of the characteristics of “intangible heritage” is “ancient”, associated to which is antique. To further carry forward the culture of collection, promote folk research and development in antique, and promote the friendship and exchange amongst those who are engaged in antique trading and collection, during the Intangible Heritage Carnival, the “2018 Autumn Exchange on Antique in Shiwu Garden” is held based on the profound collection atmosphere and cultural background in Weifang, as a cultural activity for exchange and trading. The exchange will last till Oct. 7, and provides all fans of antique collection a chance to gather together with their best collections. It must be an amazing feast of antiques for all fans of collections and selectors.
Moreover, to uphold the local traditional snacks in Weifang and establish the brands of food and culture, find back memories of past and what we once loved as a child, traditional and featured foods from the local, such as Muslim Sauced Beef, Linqu Mutton, Zhucheng Pickles, Zhucheng Braised Pork and Chicken, Fuguozhuang Mustard Chicken, Wangliu Donkey, Gaomi Steamed Bread, Maosong Cake, Wanggao Tiger Chicken, Shouguang Fruit and Vegetable Slices, Beijing Roast Duck, Changle Chuntang Cake with Eight Treasures, and Cui’s Fine Grinded Sesame Oil, Qingzhou Longsheng Cake, Qingzhou Flowery Cake and Qingzhou Fruit Wine, and from other places such as Chongqing Style Boiled Blood Curd, Bang Bang Chicken, Chicken with Pericarpium Zanthoxyli Schinifolii, Fried Pig Tripe Slices, Roasted Cold Noodle and Candy Painting, Sugar Figure, Marshmallow and Popcorn are presented on the same stage. Also the winners of the National Cooking Competition will be invited to demonstrate their culinary feats of sculpture, noodles, assorted cold dishes, ramen and so on, and speculators will have a taste on the spot to find the most “Traditional Snack of the Old Weixian County” with the CCA National Referees, so that the general public can enjoy not only the intangible heritage, but also the delicious food, and spend the National Day in a “literary and artistic” manner.
