With the arrival of gentle spring breeze and bright sunshine, the Qingming Festival (Tomb-Sweeping Day) is approaching. In Shenyang Normal University, over 30 international students participated in making qingtuan (sweet green glutinous rice balls) and kites, and listened to lectures, to experience the traditional customs of the Qingming Festival in China and understand its origin and cultural connotations.

Qingtuan is a traditional Chinese folk snack with a history of thousands of years. People in ancient China made qingtuan for offering sacrifices to ancestors. Now, it has been used as a snack for spring outings by many people.

During the cultural event, a teacher of the university prepared red bean paste, purple sweet potato paste, jujube paste and other fillings for the international students. While listening to the teacher’s introduction to the origin of the custom of eating qingtuan during the Qingming Festival, the students enthusiastically learned how to make qingtuan.

They rounded and flattened the grass-green dough, wrapped the fillings into it, pinched it along the edges, and then carefully kneaded it into a regular round shape with the palms of their hands.

The event atmosphere was lively and joyful, filled with warmth and laughter. The students excitedly held the small green rice balls in their palms and asked the teacher to take photos of them.

At the end of the event, the international students lined up the qingtuan they had made, and were happy to take videos to record the wonderful moments in experiencing the traditional Chinese festival, and to share their study and life experiences in Shenyang with their family and friends through social media.