A new episode of the “Experience Suzhou with Foreign Experts” series event kicked off at Heyuan Garden and Yiyuan Garden on Saturday (January 22). It was sponsored by Suzhou Municipal Science and Technology Bureau and Garden and Landscape Administration Bureau with the assistance of World Heritage Institute of Training and Research for the Asia and the Pacific Region (WHITRAP), Soochow University International Exchange Center and Album of Suzhou (AOS).
Nearly 20 foreign experts with Soochow University and their family members participated in the event. They come from Russia, France, United States, Japan, Laos, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, South Korea, Madagascar, Iran, Yemen and some other countries. During the event, the foreign experts savored the festivity of “Suzhou-style Chinese New Year” through learning about folk customs related to Chinese Spring Festival, writing the beloved Chinese character of “Fu” and red couples, and tasting local pastries.
Heyuan Garden
Heyuan Garden (鹤园), one of the classical gardens in Suzhou, was the first stop. Local calligraphers explained the cultural connotation of the Chinese character “Fu” (福, luck and happiness) and showed how to write the character using a Chinese writing brush. The foreign guests learned attentively and tried to write a “Fu” of their own version to pass along their New Year wishes.
*After a year of refurbishment, Heyuan Garden is now open to public starting this month. Please note that the garden will open monthly on the third Sunday. It’s free to visit but a reservation is required.
After that, they watched an impressive performance of touhu (or pitch-pot game in which participants throw arrows into a pot) and traditional Chinese archery. With intense interests in archery instruction, foreign experts felt itchy to give it a go.
Volunteers from AOS elaborated on traditional Chinese culture and Spring Festival customs unique to Jiangnan, including the origins of writing red couplets and “Fu”, putting up paper cuttings, giving red envelopes and having family reunion dinner.
Yiyuan Garden
Yiyuan Garden was the second stop. It was built during the reign of Emperor Guangxu in the Qing Dynasty and incorporated the merits of other classical gardens into its design. Qu Weiqiang, founder of AOS, showed the foreign experts around the garden and the foreign guests were impressed by the delicate structure of the garden.
“Through the cultural exchange event, I learned more about traditional Chinese culture and had new understanding of Suzhou classical gardens,” said Russian expert Anastasia Politova. “I like the water, history, culture and gardens of Suzhou,” said Md Shipan Mia from Bangladesh, “It’s a great honor for me to be invited to visit these gardens. I learned a lot from the event and I wish I could stay longer in this amazing city.”
Local authorities will continue to join hands with WHITRAP Suzhou Center, Garden Bureau and other departments to bring foreign experts closer to Suzhou culture, and help them better integrate into local life.