Articles by A.M.

In the early morning of April 8, Chaoyang Noodle House is simmering with the tempting aroma. Located in Jinqueshan Street belonging to Lanshan District, the Noodle House was crowded with customers. Mr. Zhang Xiufu, the chef, was leading the staff to shuttle between the kitchen and customers. Delicious breakfast was being served to them, who sat eagerly around the table in groups of three or five, each with a bowl of steaming noodle soup in their hands.  “This is a job that requires getting up early and going to bed late. Most people can’t handle it. No matter if it’s…

With thousands of green willow trees around, the theme park in Hedong District of Linyi City is a charming spring attraction. Locals bring their families there for a walk, enjoying the leisure atmosphere and the recreational events in the park. Some people simply set up a tent for their own activities. Adults chat and bath in the warm spring sunlight, while children play joyfully around. “Spring flowers are blooming beautifully. When the whole family came here to camp and enjoy the holiday time by the Yihe River, I felt immediately that my mood was getting better,” Xu Yao, a local…

Yangge is a form of folk dance, inheriting the ancient Chinese culture which involves the longing of the ordinary people for a better life. On March 1, the 23rd Yangge Folk Dance Show was held in Linyi’s Hedong District. Thousands of Yangge enthusiasts, in a purely festive mood of joy, gathered in Langya Old Town, singing and dancing to celebrate the Chinese New Year.  14 Yangge teams and more than 1,000 Yangge enthusiasts in the district came to the stage, dancing in light and joyful steps, accompanied by cheerful gongs and drums.  “Now that the ordinary people are enjoying better…

The 2024 Spring Festival just closed its curtain, but the atmosphere brought by Langya Old Town still around the corner. A new landmark integrating culture and tourism, Linyi’s Langya Old Town made a stunning debut. From the ceremonial opening on February 2 to the eighth day of the first lunar month (February17), Langya Old Town received a total of more than 210,000 tourists with 40% non-locals, generating a turnover of 31 million yuan. Before the official opening of the Old Town, an online article called “I’m from Langya” drew the attention of thousands of readers within minutes. “Langya enjoys a…

Linshu Jishan Geopark in Shandong Province is located in Caozhuang Town and Shimen Town, the southwest area of Linshu County. A theme park with features such as the dinosaur footprint fossils, structural relics, Danxia landforms, diamond mineral origins and other geological landscapes, it is a comprehensive geopark that integrates scientific investigation, popular science education, leisure vacation, entertainment and adventure. One hundred million years ago, during the late Cretaceous period, Jishan and even the entire Linyi region were a paradise for dinosaurs, with their footprints around. During the course of time, the footprints have been thickly covered with dust. Earthquakes, volcanic…

The Lantern Festival is the last important festival during the Chinese Spring Festival. It falls on the 15th day of the first lunar month each year, the first full moon night of the new year.  The Lantern Festival in 2024 coincided with the Western Valentine’s Day, 14, February. To celebrate the Lantern Festival, Linshu County in Shandong Province presented a colorful cultural feast by holding a variety of joyful folk activities.  The Fuyuan Street Community, for instance, held a lively garden party, which attracted many locals to participate in. The traditional lantern riddle guessing led everyone back to the ancient time….

During the Spring Festival, the bustling and lively Hedong District of Linyi City is crowded with people. The rural dramas are being sung, and the traditional Yangge dancers are happily preforming with gongs and drums around the scenic spots and markets. “Every house hangs red lanterns and posts Spring Festival couplets. Every village offers a good show. So go back to the hometown to celebrate the New Year!” During the 2024 New Year time, Shandong Rural Culture Tourism Festival is lasting until the beginning of the lunar February. The festival is focusing on organizing the New Year’s goods fair, village…

Whirring and squeaking, the big windmill is singing. Together with the sky and the soil, oh, how beautiful! Together with the little buddies, oh, the happy buddies! Hao’s windmill in Pingyi County, Linyi City of Shandong Province, embodies the ancient skills passed down generation after generation. Each windmill requires more than 30 steps to finish, including cutting, coloring, drying, bundling, bonding, polishing, drilling, assembling, and packaging before completion. It is a municipal intangible cultural heritage. Family Hao’s business could be traced back to the Daoguang period (1782-1850) of the Qing Dynasty. At that time, Hao’s ancestor Dongye Gaosheng learned the…

Entering the Year of the Dragon, the inheritors of the local intangible cultural heritage from Junan County in Shandong Province begin to display their skills and talents, creating festive and popular products with dragon as the main element. Starting this January, Mr. Ding Dawei, the inheritor of Gaoyu wood comb in Junan County, began to receive customized patterns for making the samples. From receiving orders to the completion of the produces, he worked for more than half a month in order to complete a thousand customized combs for a Xiamen customer.  Right after the combs were packaged and shipped out, he…

“The temple fair is beautiful, and the dragon-lion performances are fabulous! A great time for both adults and children!” Ms. Wang, a tourist from Jiangsu Province, said cheerfully at the trendy garden party in Zhuquan Village, Yinan County of Linyi City, Shandong Province. She was taking photos in front of the lion dance performance with the majestic sounds of gongs and drums. Yinan County launched a variety of folk performances during the Spring Festival 2024, including dragon and lion dances, Han fashion costumes shows, intangible cultural heritage events and more in its scenic spots and urban areas. There were more…