Sanmenxia's culture and art in highlight of cross-Straits exchange

A group of students from the Chinese mainland and Taiwan got the chance to experience some very special performances, crafts and art, on July 25, all of which give Sanmenxia its truly unique character.

More than 40 students took part in the cultural exchange activity, organized by Chinese Culture Friendship Association and the People's Government of Henan province.

Paper cutting, dough figurines, shadow play and luogushu, a form of storytelling and ballad singing in Henan dialect, were performed for the students, who even got the chance to take part themselves.

Students learn the paper-cutting art under the guidance of master Huang Liang'e, who is an inheritor of the intangible cultural heritage. [Photo by Gao Limin/taiwan.cn]

Of particular interest was chui cao yin hua, a delicate art form requiring immense amounts of patience and skill which requires the weaving and printing with thin blades of grass.

Zhu Xiuyun, a craftswoman from Sanmenxia, has been practicing chui cao yun hua for almost 10 years.

"The chui cao yin hua technique was once lost for almost 100 years," Zhu said. "Several years of effort eventually brings the floral printing process and the tradition back to life."

Sanmenxia craftswoman Zhu Xiuyun teaches a student the technique of chui cao yin hua, a traditional folk craft of weaving and printing with thin blades of grass, in Sanmenxia, Central China's Henan province, on July 25. [Photo by Gao Limin/taiwan.cn]

Zhu recalled that she visited Taiwan in 2009 and 2015 where her works well received.

The students also gained an insight into Sanmenxia's culture and history by visiting several symbolic scenic spots, such as Guo State Museum, a historical and cultural site under the state-level protection, underground cave dwellings in Shanzhou district, and Sanmenxia Dam -- the first large water-conservation project on the Yellow River after the new China was founded in 1949.

The tour helped to boost exchanges and promote the preservation of traditional practices from one generation to the next.

Visitors view the paper-cutting artwork Lantingxu (Orchid Pavilion Prologue), a masterpiece in Chinese calligraphy. [Photo by Gao Limin/taiwan.cn]

Young people from the Chinese mainland and Taiwan visit Sanmenxia Dam on July 25, the first large water-conservation project on the Yellow River after the new China was founded in 1949. [Photo by Gao Limin/taiwan.cn]