Nanjing Normal University's international students admire blossoms at Plum Blossom Hill in Nanjing. [Photo/Yangtze Evening News]

Over the past weekend, more than 10 international students from countries including Italy, Laos, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan gathered at Plum Blossom Hill in Nanjing. Dressed in traditional Chinese attire, the students from the International College for Chinese Studies of Nanjing Normal University enjoyed the beauty of plum blossoms and experienced the art of stone rubbing.

Plum Blossom Hill boasts around 35,000 plum trees of over 360 varieties, making it a top destination for plum blossom appreciation in China.

An Uzbekistani student shared her knowledge about the symbolic significance of plum blossoms in Chinese culture, where they represent longevity, beauty, and purity. As the flowers bloom in winter, they also symbolize strength, endurance, and victory. She also shared her country's tradition of celebrating a flower festival in every May, paying homage to beauty and elegance.

The students then explored the newly opened Zhongshan Literary Museum, where they learned the art of stone rubbing, Nanjing's distinctive intangible cultural heritage. An inheritor explained that the images they created include dragons and clouds, allowing the students to gain a deeper understanding of ancient Chinese aesthetics.

International students learn stone rubbing from an intangible cultural heritage inheritor. [Photo/Yangtze Evening News]