On September 24-25, over 180 2016 freshmen from overseas and Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan embarked on a cultural tour: they visited Yueyang Tower, Junshan Island, Zhangguying Village and Shaping Hunan Embroidery Museum for appreciating the charm and appeal of Hunan and experiencing its culture.
Yueyang Tower, originally built in the Three Kingdoms Period, has enjoyed the reputation “To all the lakes, Dongting lake stands, and to all the towers, Yueyang tower leads” since ancient times. On the morning of September 24, CSU students from all over the world chanted Account of Yueyang Tower together in front of Yueyang Tower and cherished the memory of the ancients. They also ascended the tower and admired the scenery of Dongting Lake: “the mighty Lake joins the mountains in distance, and swallows the water from the Yangtze River”. Attracted by the national style of Chinese ancient architecture, all the students took photos and climbed up the tower to appreciate it. At both sides of the corridor in the scenic spot are the forest of stone tablets with poems carved in, which gave the students a preliminary understanding of Chinese calligraphy and poetry.
In Junshan, the students experienced its quietness and mystery, and heard the thousand-year-old myths and legends: Ehuang and Nvying sati, the First Emperor of Qin Dynasty sealing the mountain, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty shooting the flood dragon, and Liu Yi helping the third princess send her family letter. Hearing the romantic love story of Liu Yi and the third princess, some ran to Liu Yi Well in the hope of meeting their own true love. They witnessed the bamboo grove, the mottle on which, according to the legend, was Ehuang and Nvying’s tears, and were moved by their deep love. They tasted Junshan silver needle tea, an initial understanding of Chinese tea culture.
Zhang Guying Village, a Chinese historic and cultural village with a history of over 500 years, is the most well-preserved ancient residential architectural complex of southern Yangtze River. The village is like a heaven of peace: it is surrounded by mountains; its houses are well-arranged; and the villagers live and work in peace and contentment. The layout and structure of houses, and the honest and simple villagers perfectly illustrate the concept of “harmony” and “family” the Chinese advocate. The students were amazed at the wisdom of “the river flows down the steps and the door opens besides the water”, and “no exposure to the sun in hot days and no wet shoes in rainy or snowy days”, and praised humanistic care of “the corridor besides the water”.
Hunan embroidery, one of the four famous Chinese embroideries, has enjoyed the reputation that the flower embroidered is fragrant, the bird embroidered can sing, the tiger embroidered can run, the person embroidered is lively. Although a little bit exhausted after a morning’s visiting, the students were drawn by the exhibits the moment they entered the Shaping Hunan Embroidery Museum. Seeing such Embroidery works as lifelike figures, beautiful mountains and lakes and colorful fireworks display, all of them marveled at the exquisite embroidery skills of the female embroidery workers.
There was no doubt that the tour was a pleasant cultural experience for students who came to Hunan for the first time. It enhanced their understanding of Hunan culture and Chinese culture, as well as deepened their friendship. Yang Ziquan, from Macao said he was extremely excited because he had seen Yueyang Tower, which appeared only in his high school textbook before, and learned some about the mainland people and Hunan embroidery, and he also extended his resolution to take positive actions to know more about Chinese profound culture. Chen Shixin, from Outer Mongolia considered that he had gained a lot from the tour, and he will try his best to learn Chinese culture. Pan Yuling, from Thailand said that she had made many friends during the tour, which convinced her that the life in China would be exciting. She has fallen in love with Hunan although she is new here.
