On June 6, in the afternoon, thick aroma of Zongzi and sounds of laughter filled the air in DUT Boyuan Restaurant. Confucius Institute DUT-BSU scholars from Russia, Belarus, Japan, Cameroon and other countries came together to learn how to wrap Zongzi from restaurant chef. They were there to experience culture of Dragon Boat Festival and celebrate the advent of festival.

        Restaurant staff early prepared full set of materials including bamboo leaf, glutinous rice and red dates before everything, as well as fruits and desserts. All students and teachers washed hands and watched show-how. Teachers from Confucius Institute Management Office introduced the origin and customs of Dragon Boat Festival. On that day, Chinese people race dragon boats, wrap Zongzi, decorate with mugwort, tie colorful ropes and drink realgar wine to commemorate the great patriotic poet Qu Yuan.

        They were all new hands to wrap Zongzi. With the guidance of chef, all students step by step rolled leaves, filled with red dates and tied roped. They did very carefully and almost the same. Restaurant chef gave them a thumb-up. Japanese student Hamada Mari was puzzled about the size, “Why my Zongzi is so small? It’s not as easy as it looks to be made.” Belarusian student Zhou Xiaomei said, “I think this activity is very meaningful.”

        After the hands-on experience, restaurant staff served with cooked Zongzi and enjoyed dinner together with all others. They had a happy and relaxed chat with each other. Students expressed that Zongzi was yummy and wished the more culture experiences DUT held, the better. This activity conveyed cultural connotation of Dragon Boat Festival and allowed students to experience the unique charm of traditional Chinese culture with hands on.