A group of expats from the UK, Ukraine, Egypt and other countries gathered to experience traditional Lantern Festival customs in Jingjiang – a county-level city administered by Taizhou in East China's Jiangsu province – on Feb 5.
Expats enjoy the performance for making tea. [Photo by Sheng Yi/jnews.xhby.net]
The visitors learn how to make tangyuan or sweet rice dumplings in Jingjiang during the Lantern Festival. The word tangyuan is nearly the same as tuanyuan, which means "reunion" in Chinese – meaning the food symbolizes families coming together. [Photo by Sheng Yi/people.com.cn]
"This is the first time that I have experienced the Lantern Festival in China and eating tangyuan we made feels very good," said Mohamed Nasser from Egypt.
Bright arrays of lantern riddles in English are hung for expats in Jingjiang to solve during the Lantern Festival. [Photo by Sheng Yi/jnews.xhby.net]
Shanice from Jamaica solved two riddles very quickly and shared her triumph with her friends.
Expats try their hand at making festive lanterns in Jingjiang during the Lantern Festival. [Photo by Sheng Yi/jnews.xhby.net]
Jingjiang city has been ramping up efforts to build an international city that is attractive to more expats from around the world.
The city has organized several activities, such those similar to the ones staged during the Mid-Autumn Festival, to help expats better understand Chinese culture and to promote the cultural heritage of the city.