— The School of Foreign Languages 2023 Chinese International Education Interns Host Immersive Dragon Boat Festival Cultural Experience Event
(By: Yang Hua, Shi Yibo)The School of Foreign Languages held an immersive Dragon Boat Festival cultural experience on the afternoon of June 17 at Building 3, Wuchang Campus. Titled Dragon Boat Festival Zongzi: Connecting Hearts Through Culture, the event was fully delivered by interns majoring in Chinese International Education from the School of Foreign Languages, in partnership with the School of International Education and the Logistics Support Department. Chinese interns and international students gathered to explore traditional Chinese folk customs through hands-on activities.
The intern team designed and prepared the event. They selected key cultural facts about the Dragon Boat Festival, wrote bilingual scripts, prepared craft materials, and planned interactive games, adjusting the content to match international students’ prior cultural knowledge. The team balanced academic accuracy with fun experiences to ensure the activity ran smoothly.
The ceremony opened with hosts He Qingwei and Zhai Shuyan managing guest check-in, followed by welcoming remarks from school leaders. Associate Professor You Guilan then gave a bilingual lecture on the origin, legends, and folk traditions of the Dragon Boat Festival, supported by short videos that highlighted the festival’s cultural appeal. A prize quiz after the lecture drew enthusiastic responses from international students, who tested and reinforced what they had just learned.
Four hands-on stations were set up, and mixed groups of Chinese and international students rotated through them. Canteen chefs demonstrated zongzi wrapping live. The sachet-making area, supplied with aromatic herbs and colorful cloth, filled the room with scent. At the folk rubbing station, participants decorated round fans and canvas tote bags with Dragon Boat Festival patterns. A bilingual trivia competition ran alongside the craft sessions. Chinese International Education interns provided on-site bilingual assistance, explaining procedures, sharing short cultural stories, and bridging cross-cultural communication.
At the end of the activity, participants showed off their handmade zongzi, herbal sachets, and rubbing artworks. International students shared traditional festivals from their home nations and talked about what they had gained from the day. Everyone held up their creations for a group photo, freezing this moment of cross-cultural exchange.
The immersive experience let international students experience the Dragon Boat Festival’s rich heritage firsthand. It also gave Chinese International Education interns valuable practice in cross-cultural communication and cultural outreach.
The event was created to deepen international outreach for fine traditional Chinese culture and build a sustainable platform for exchanges between Chinese and overseas youth. It also helps Chinese International Education students turn classroom knowledge into real-world practice. Moving forward, the School of Foreign Languages will keep prioritizing practical learning for its majors. It encourages these students to serve as cultural ambassadors, developing varied cross-cultural events to share Chinese stories with young voices. The school seeks to maintain regular youth exchanges and build an inclusive campus culture based on mutual respect and understanding.
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