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In-depth / Exclusives

Enjoying Scenery, Folk Culture in Wuchuan

　December 11, 2022

 

Wuchuan, a city in western Guangdong Province, is situated on South China's Leizhou Peninsula, one of the country's three major peninsulas. Several rivers run through the city, which sits on a bank of the South China Sea. Wuchuan, commonly referred to as the Pearl of Western Guangdong, has an attractive coastal landscape, and a rich folk culture heritage.

Wuchuan, with more than 70 kilometers of coastline, is an ideal place to spend a holiday. Jizhao Bay, Dinglong Bay and Wuyang Golden Coast Resort are among the popular tourist destinations. The blue sky, the blue sea, the reef, the beach and the mangrove forests, by the sea, combine to create the city's beautiful gallery of the coast.

A 21-hectare island is situated where the Xiaodong, Meihua and Sanya rivers converge. A bridge connects the island with the city. The island, called Jiangxin Island, became the first ecological park in Wuchuan in the 1990s.

A 4,000-seat stadium, football pitches, basketball courts, swimming pools, a clay sculpture garden and various recreation facilities, including a Ferris wheel, are located on the island. It is a popular place with locals, many of whom flock to the island to enjoy themselves during their leisure time. 

With sufficient sunlight and a pleasant temperature, Wuchuan is known as a land of milk and honey. Rice, various kinds of fruits and other agricultural products are abundant in the city. 

 

The locals have the tradition of raising ducks and geese. Wuchuan's thriving poultry-breeding industry has helped the city become a major production center of feathers and down. In 2005, Wuchuan was named the Town of Feathers and Down by the China National Light Industry Council and China Feather and Down Industrial Association. 

Chen Wenjian, president of Wuchuan Feather and Down Association, says Wuchuan's output of feathers and down accounts for 15 percent of the total output in China, and for 11 percent of the total global output.

The construction industry is an important pillar industry in Wuchuan. In 2014, the city was named the Town of Chinese Architectural Decoration by the China Construction Industry Association. 

Guangdong Poetry Society in 2008 named Wuchuan the Town of Poetry. The town of Huangpo has hosted the annual Spring Festival poetry party, one of the most popular poetry events in the city, for the past 30 years.  

The traditional folk culture of Wuchuan has a long history. Meilu, a town in Wuchuan, in 2000 was named the Town of Chinese Folk Art by Ministry of Culture. 

Nianli, which literally means one time a year, is a grand folk-cultural activity in western Guangdong. 

 

Nianli is celebrated in Wuchuan during the first lunar month of the Chinese lunar calendar, especially during Lantern Festival, which falls on the 15th day of the first lunar month. Some of the villages in Wuchuan celebrate at other times of the year, however.

The locals organize grand banquets, hold worship rituals and present various folk-culture performances, such as piaose (literally meaning floating color, a folk art in western Guangdong), the lion dance and puppet shows.

Wuchuan piaose, clay sculpture and Flower Bridge are known as the Three Wonders of Wuchuan. 

The art form of clay sculptures that originated in Wuchuan was added to the list of items of intangible cultural heritage of Guangdong Province in 2007. Wuchuan piaose was added to the list of the country's items of intangible cultural heritage the next year. 

Wuchuan piaose originated in Shagang, a village in Huangpo, during the late Qing Dynasty (1616-1911).

 

Created by Chen Quheng, an artist born during the Qing Dynasty, Wuchuan piaose has undergone a long process of evolution, from its original spinning figures, to the figures on the table, and most recently to the contemporary flying figures. 

Foreigners refer to piaose as the Hidden Art of the East. The piaose figures are often children aged 6-12 who are supported by a hidden steel bar. Children are dressed up as figures in myths, legends and historical stories. 

Figures that sit or stand on a platform are called ping (screen), while those flying in the air are called piao (floating). They are placed on small platforms that have wheels. People push the small platforms during festive parades.

Today, piaose is mainly performed in Wuchuan during the Lantern Festival and other major festivals.

Flower Bridge was first built in the 1970s in Shanggehai, a village in Meilu Town. Locals stroll across the bridge during the Lantern Festival. As the bridge was old and no longer safe, it was rebuilt in 2019. It reopened to the public in January 2021. The new bridge has an ancient-style archway at each end.

 

Photos Supplied by VCG

(Women of China English Monthly October 2022 issue)

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