Global youth participate in the GYLD Grand Canal Tour. [Photo/WeChat account: TjXqgov]
The GYLD Grand Canal Tour was held in Yangliuqing Ancient Town in Xiqing district, Tianjin, on Sept 9. Experts, scholars and cultural exchange practitioners from nine countries, including Pakistan and Serbia, visited the town for a Grand Canal-themed cultural exchange.
The delegation first visited the Yangliuqing Folk Culture Museum, where cultural and creative products featuring traditional culture and New Year paintings attracted their attention. They learned about the town's canal-side history and how the canal has fostered cultural exchanges.
At the Shi Family Mansion, visitors admired the northern Chinese residential complex, its intricate carvings and traditional Chinese aesthetics, while learning about the stories and business philosophies of canal merchants.
At Yucheng Hao, a time-honored Yangliuqing New Year painting workshop, Huo Qingshun, a representative inheritor of the national intangible cultural heritage item, introduced Yangliuqing woodblock New Year paintings and their revival.
Participants tried their hand at painting. Jazbia Shirin from Pakistan said the ancient town was both old and modern, adding that the painting was difficult but beautiful.
International visitors experience Chinese acrobatics. [Photo/WeChat account: TjXqgov]
The group also strolled along the Imperial Waterway, took photos at the symbolic baby-holding-fish statue, and experienced Chinese acrobatics. A Serbian student who has been living in China for 10 years described the acrobatics as exciting and the painting as enjoyable.