Tongxiang invites foreign visitors to experience spring scenery

Thirteen foreign reporters, photographers and embassy staff invited by Tongxiang local government for the activity Discover Tongxiang visited Taoyuan village on March 31, experiencing the beautiful scenery of regions south of the Yangtze River in spring.

Taoyuan village is situated at the Southeast of Tongxiang in Jiaxing city of Zhejiang province, 7.3 kilometers away from the county, which is renowned for its long history of planting plum trees with plum flowers being in full bloom every March and April.

The visiting group members wearing Han Chinese clothing enjoyed the sight of plum blossom, drank plum wine and experienced traditional local custom.

"This is my first time to drink wine made from plum. I think it tastes like Chinese liquor but is not that strong. It tastes very good," said Akhil Parashar, a reporter from CRI Online.

This was also his first time wearing Han Chinese Clothing. "I believe that this village has time-honored history and culture. Wearing such traditional clothing makes me feel like I'm traveling through time and allows me to have a more personal experience to the traditional Chinese culture," he added.

Besides tasting plum wine, the visiting group also experienced the local traditional cultural handicraft—handmade bamboo weaving and kite making.

Manuel Becerra, a travel lover working at Variarts inbound travel agency, experienced handmade bamboo weaving with the guidance of local people. "In western countries, I have never made objects with bamboo. Bamboo weaving is very interesting and we can make some simple things by ourselves. I'm very happy to get such an opportunity to experience this traditional culture," he said.

Bamboo weaving is a traditional handicraft made from bamboo with hand weaving. Chenzhuang village and Gushanli in Wuzhen town are renowned for bamboo weaving. The history of bamboo weaving can be traced from Tang Dynasty (AD618-907), with a history of more than 500 years. Wuzhen bamboo weaving was listed on the fourth batch of Jiaxing municipal intangible cultural heritage list. Mario Tani is the vice commercial counselor of the Philippine consulate in Shanghai and has been working in China since two years ago. The beautiful scenery of Taoyuan village allures him. "The village is very close to Shanghai. I love its peaceful environment very much and the local people are friendly, which left in me a lot of unique and unforgettable memories. When I have spare time, I usually spend my days there to experience a leisure life," he said.

The visiting group members are sightseeing at Taoyuan village.[Photo/chinadaily.com.cn]