On the afternoon of September 23, the Overseas Students Affairs Office held the *Mid‑Autumn Culture Intangible Cultural Heritage Rattan‑Weaving Workshop* at the Library Student Book Bar. Over ten international students from Serbia, Malaysia, Japan, Thailand, India and Turkmenistan came together to mark the Mid‑Autumn Festival and experience China’s traditional rattan‑weaving craft.
Three forms of rattan weaving are included on China’s National Intangible Cultural Heritage List: Anxi bamboo‑rattan weaving, Huaiyuan rattan weaving and Hanzhong rattan weaving. Of these, Anxi bamboo‑rattan weaving from Fujian Province has the longest history, stretching back more than 1,000 years. It grew into a large‑scale industry amid expanding trade during the Ming and Qing dynasties. Anxi bamboo‑rattan weaving was added to the national intangible heritage register in 2014, with Hanzhong and Huaiyuan rattan weaving following in 2021.
At the workshop, the instructor first gave an overview of Mid‑Autumn traditions and the history of rattan weaving, before demonstrating fundamental skills including material selection, weaving and shaping. Working in small groups, the students crafted their own rattan sachets and filled them with aromatic herbs — mugwort, jasmine, lavender and osmanthus — merging intangible‑cultural‑heritage craft with the festive spirit of Mid‑Autumn. The session unfolded in a lively atmosphere, as students assisted one another to finish one‑of‑a‑kind sachets.
This activity forms part of the university’s ongoing cultural‑education series aimed at fostering cross‑cultural exchange and mutual learning. Wang Ying of the Overseas Students Affairs Office led the event. Working directly with rattan strips and hand‑weaving sachets transformed the students from onlookers into active participants. They gained a close‑up insight into the Mid‑Autumn Festival’s core theme of reunion, while appreciating the craftsmanship embedded in fine traditional Chinese culture.
