Cultural event refreshes Taiwan students' impressions of mainland

A dazzling array of folk customs celebrating Spring Festival in Fuzhou dazzled a group of Taiwan students on Jan 29.

At the Fujian folk custom museum situated at the Three Lanes and Seven Alleys, a historic and cultural block in Fuzhou, the students studied and learned how to make some traditional handicrafts to mark the Chinese New Year, including painting transcription, paper cutting, sugar-coated figurines and Chinese knots.

Huang Yunhan of Taiwan's Ming Chuan University said that Taiwan and the mainland have a lot of similarities in New Year customs, adding that it was the first time for her to welcome Xiaonian, or the Little Chinese New Year, which falls on Jan 29 this year.

Huang Pinghsuan from Hsuan Chuang University was impressed by the changes during her second trip to the mainland; her first one was with her grandfather when she was still a primary school student.

The trip totally changed her view of the mainland, which is now clean and developed. She expressed the hope of touring more cities including Beijing, saying that "the mainland has a lot of beautiful places with different features".

The event, jointly organized by the China Friendship Association of Cultural Circles and the Fujian Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism, aims to expand cross-Straits cultural ties and promote Spring Festival traditional customs among cross-Straits youths.