Fujian Media Group Releases the “Fu Culture to the World” Short Video Series of International Students Exploring Pingtan’s Fu Culture, Showcasing Its Unique Intangible Cultural Heritage—the Lantai Umbrella Lantern

The Fujian Media Group recently released a series of short videos themed “Fu Culture to the World.” These videos aim to showcase the unique landscapes, local customs, and traditional culture of Pingtan through the distinct perspectives of international students living in Fujian and media reporters. While promoting Pingtan’s cultural and tourism brand, the series also seeks to introduce the world to Pingtan’s unique “Fu” culture, building a bridge for cultural dissemination and exchange between China and other countries.

Pingtan Island, located in China’s Fujian Province, is known for its picturesque scenery and rich tourism resources. It boasts not only enchanting island views but also a wealth of traditional culture. To better showcase Pingtan’s “Fu” culture to the world and further the development of Pingtan as an international tourism island, the Media Center of Technology Culture & Sports of Fujian Media Group and the Tourism,culture and sports bureau of Pingtan comprehensive pilot zone organized the “Fu Culture to the World—Fu Culture Short Video Exploration Series.” International students and media reporters were invited to explore Pingtan and experience the island’s romantic vitality and cultural charm. This short video series is a genuine record of their visit to Pingtan.

The Lantai Umbrella Lantern, a district-level intangible cultural heritage representative project of the Pingtan Comprehensive Experimental Zone, is a kind of lantern popular in Taiwan. It gets its name from its ability to fold up like a paper umbrella. Making an umbrella lantern is meticulous: the skeleton is made exclusively from three-year-old Taiwanese laurel bamboo, specifically using spring bamboo harvested after the winter shoots, with harvesting occurring once every three years. Creating an umbrella lantern takes over 20 days and involves over a dozen steps.

BUI THI LINH, a Vietnamese international student, was one of the invited participants in the “Fu” culture short video exploration series. At the Taiwan Folk Painted Umbrella Lantern Experience Hall in Pingtan’s Taiwan Town, she donned a Hanfu and immersed herself in the process of making an umbrella lantern. Under the guidance of an instructor, she decorated the lantern with shells and used a calligraphy brush to write the blessing “Bai Nian Hao He” (meaning “God blesses newlywebs a happy life”) on it. This experience with the Lantai Umbrella Lantern deepened her love for traditional Chinese culture.

The “Fu Culture to the World” short video series of international students exploring Pingtan is a true record of “telling China’s story well, spreading China’s voice well, and showcasing an authentic, multidimensional, and comprehensive China.” It is a practical effort to promote Fujian’s “Fu” culture brand, letting the world see “Fu” culture, understand “Fu” culture, and make it truly become a bridge for cultural communication between China and the world.

Click the following links to watch other short videos of this series:

One Ocean, One Home: https://twitter.com/HolaFujian/status/1805505079119856034

Ordering challenge in Pingtan Dialect: https://www.facebook.com/LoveFujian/videos/1725568154936506

This is Pingtan: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=7987416967992948

Chinese Romance: https://twitter.com/HolaFujian/status/1805844326079144333