Ratanina Masha (right) from Russia, who studies Chinese at the Ocean University of China, proudly displays her calligraphy skills on Neighbor Day on April 20 in Shinan District, Qingdao. Liu Chunmei / FOR CHINA DAILY

Dozens of foreigners gathered in a small neighborhood in Qingdao's Shinan district on the afternoon of April 20.

They came to make friends among the locals in honor of Neighbor Day, an 18-day event celebrated across Qingdao, including the county-level cities on its outskirts, such as Jiaozhou. They also learnt the arts of Chinese calligraphy, dumpling making, paper cutting, and discovered the culture of Chinese family trees.

The festival started 12 years ago after a 10-year-old girl called Sun Ruihan was rebufed after paying a New Year's visit to her neighbor. Upset by the incident, she wrote to the Shibei district government of Qingdao, suggesting that they introduce a "Neighbor Day" to encourage greater community spirit.

The concept was embraced by the municipal government and promoted as a city-level event in a bid to boost friendliness and civility in the city.

"Neighbor Day grew from the needs of our people and was popularized by our people," said Hui Xin'an, head of the Publicity Department of Qingdao.

"With additional support from the government, it is becoming another of the city's signature cultural events and part of Qingdao's culture branding."

As the birthplace of the festival, Shibei district hosted the opening ceremony of this year's Neighbor Day on April 19. With the theme of "neighbors as family", selected role models and citizen representatives from across the city gathered to share their homemade food and discuss the family stories behind those delicacies. There was also a 'knock-on-the-door' activity to help neighbors network with each other and enhance communication among them.

In Jiaozhou, a county-level city of Qingdao, organizers hosted a number of activities to bring neighbors together, including the sharing of family stories and a mobile neighbors' library to share books.

As the central area of downtown Qingdao, Shinan district attracts many foreigners into its communities, thus there is also international representation at their Neighbor Day activities.

Sarah Sobas from the United States said she had a great time with her neighbors as she experienced the art of Chinese paper cutting for the first time.

Ratanina Masha from Russia, who is studying Chinese at the Ocean University of China, described the event as a great opportunity to make friends with her Chinese neighbors and learn about the local culture with them. She tried her hand at Chinese calligraphy and wrote the Chinese characters for "neighbor".

She also had great fun learning how to make dumplings. "I love dumplings but I never knew how to make them before," she said.

"Now I can come to my neighbors' homes and learn in their kitchens."