On the afternoon of May 31, with the scent of zongzi and herbs in the air, the Dunhuang Contemporary Art Museum, Rongqingtang, and Shanghai Airlines Holiday Travel Agency came together to host "Discover Fun in Yangpu: Aromatic Festivity of Dragon Boat Festival • Artistic Echoes of Dunhuang". In a bilingual cultural journey, 23 participants from China and abroad delved into sachet making, mural mysteries, and clay tablet painting creation, discovering the intertwined charm of ancient traditions and Silk Road artistry.

A whiff of herbs entwines with the festive memories of dragon boat

From ancient times to the present, each season etches its own story into the passage of time. As the event kicked off, friends from around the world gathered around worktables redolent with the scent of herbs. The Rongqingtang team showcased the art of crafting sachets, using their signature stitches. This craft, recognized by Shanghai as an intangible cultural heritage item, combines the finesse of Jiangnan embroidery with the wisdom of traditional Chinese medicine.

Led by the heritage team, participants carefully went through ten steps: material selecting and cutting, embroidering, powder grinding, cotton stuffing, and stitching. Sina from Turkey carefully stuffed her sachet, saying, "This tiny sachet is a treasure trove of Chinese wisdom. It's more than just a scent - it's a story sewn into every stitch."

The sachet craft of Rongqingtang is not just a relic in old books; it is a vibrant tradition that comes to life on our bodies and in our homes. By blending ancient wisdom with modern design, it transforms intangible cultural heritage into a scented storyteller, carrying tales of China to the world.

Entering "Staging Dunhuang"

With the scent still in the air, the exhibition tour kicked off. In the "Staging Dunhuang" hall, 21 modern and contemporary artists reinterpret ancient murals through diverse media like painting, video, installation, and calligraphy, painting a cultural picture where the past and present converse.

The bilingual tour in Chinese and English, led by volunteers from the Dunhuang Contemporary Art Museum, delved into the stories behind the artworks, their creative visions, and how they relate to Dunhuang's rich cultural heritage. During the interactive Q&A, foreign visitors eagerly shared their thoughts, showing a keen interest in the modern philosophies behind Dunhuang art.

Discovering millennial mural skills in "zongzi"

Clay tablet painting, inspired by Dunhuang murals, keeps the vivid colors of the original artworks but removes the limitations of cave settings. Each piece is like a "touchable tale spanning a thousand years."

At the venue, instructors from the Public Education Department of Dunhuang Contemporary Art Museum shared insights into this ancient craft. To create murals, ancient artists layered the stone walls with coarse mud, hemp-reinforced mud, fine mud, and white plaster. This meticulous preparation ensured the murals' endurance. Dunhuang murals are famous for their vivid, enduring colors, made possible by natural mineral pigments. These minerals were ground, sifted, and blended with glue to create vibrant pigments ready for the artists' brushes.

In the creative process, participants began by sketching the outline of zongzi with a pencil, then meticulously painted over it using a brush and pigment, employing line drawing techniques. When it came to coloring, they let their imaginations run wild - some opted for traditional red and green, embodying the festival's joy and vitality, while others ventured into bolder color schemes. The instructors offered gentle guidance on balancing color intensity, brushstroke weight, and overall harmony.

One by one, vivid and distinctive zongzi-themed clay tablet paintings came to life. As the Dragon Boat Festival approached, these artworks became a new way to engage with traditional culture, breathing fresh life into ancient customs.

This journey through time and culture, bridging the ancient and the modern, reimagined the Dragon Boat Festival traditions and gave Dunhuang art a fresh voice. The "Discover Fun in Yangpu" tour, with its hands-on and take-home experiences, plants the seeds of traditional culture deep in the hearts of visitors from around the world.

As one international friend, Maxim, put it at the close of the event, "Today, I felt the weight of China's ancient civilization." This is the true magic of cultural exchange: traditional culture finding new life in the modern world, and the world discovering China through firsthand experience.