Expats soak up Duanwu fun in Shandong

A group of foreign reporters and influencers based in China learned to make zongzi, or glutinous rice dumplings, on Friday in Weihai, East China's Shandong province, to familiarize themselves with Duanwu, or the Dragon Boat Festival, a traditional festival celebrated across China on the fifth day of the fifth month according to the lunar calendar.

"I had so much fun making zongzi! It was such an interesting process, and I absolutely loved it," said Mohammad Hashem Mohammadi, an Afghan content creator based in Shanghai.

Hashem said in his culture, festivals and celebrations are also often marked by specific traditional foods that hold cultural significance. Special foods are prepared and enjoyed during Nowruz, the Persian New Year, and the end of Ramadan, the holy month of fasting in Islam, said the young Afghan.

"I found it (making zongzi) really hard. I'm not very good at intricate things but I enjoyed it. It was fascinating to learn how it is made," said Nick Ive, a British editor with China Daily.

Ive noted dolmas, a popular dish featuring vine leaves stuffed with rice, meat and fresh herbs in Mediterranean cuisine is similar tozongzi.

He also learned that Duanwu is a festival for commemorating Qu Yuan, a great patriotic poet and politician during the Warring States Period (475-221 BC).

"There are similarities to some British or European cultures where people pay homage to people who have done good things for the county to convey messages of goodness and doing the right thing," he said.

Ive cited D-Day as an example. "D-Day is for remembering those who fought against Nazi Germany during World War II," he said.

D-Day was the name given to June 6, 1944, the day on which the British, US and other Allied armies landed on the beaches at Normandy in northern France.