Sign up for Dragon Boat Festival event for expats

To celebrate the upcoming Dragon Boat Festival, iSuzhou and the Suzhou Bay Cultural Centre will co-host a cultural experience event for expats on Friday.

Dragon Boat Festival in Suzhou

In September 2009, UNESCO officially approved the Dragon Boat Festival 's inclusion in the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, making it the first Chinese festival to be selected. The application was jointly sponsored by three provinces and included four parts, including the Dragon Boat Festival customs of Suzhou.

The Dragon Boat Festival customs of Suzhou originate from ancient dragon-totem worship rituals practiced about 2,500 years ago. What makes them distinctive is their connection to Wu Zixu, as well as Jiangnan folk traditions they embody. Core customs include dragon boat racing, making herbal sachets, hanging mugwort and calamus, and wearing "Five Poisons" garments, tiger-head shoes and five-color silk strings.

Event Highlights

It is customary to hang sachets in Suzhou during the Dragon Boat Festival . Sachets are embroidered with patterns of flowers, birds and beasts and filled with fragrant herbs. Participants in this event will have the chance to make Song brocade sachets themselves and visit the Song Brocade Culture and Art Space.

Song Brocade Culture and Art Space

The Dragon Boat Festival falls around the time when the national college entrance exam and the high school entrance exam take place. In recent years, zongzi (sticky rice dumplings) and Dingsheng Cakes (a traditional rice cake symbolizing victory) have become popular gifts conveying good wishes for academic success. Guests will have the opportunity to sample Dingsheng Cakes and smoked edamame tea, and learn about Suzhou's culinary traditions and the cultural meanings behind food.

Dingsheng Cake. Photo/Xieshunxing

Smoked edamame tea. Photo/Xieshunxing

Other stops include the Suzhou Bay Digital Art Museum and the Z.Pilot Hi-tech Experience Space, where participants can explore cutting-edge technologies applied to art and daily life.

Suzhou Bay Digital Art Museum

Time: Afternoon of June 12

Length: Three hours

Participants: 30 expats in Suzhou

Registration: Send us your name, contact information (phone number or WeChat ID) and the reason why you want to participate.

Notes: 1. Participation is free of charge;

2. Participants will be contacted by staff via phone or WeChat;

3. Participants will depart together from a designated location in Suzhou Industrial Park.

Source: iSuzhou