Cultural Exchange with ASEAN: Unlocking Nanning's Cultural Treasures

🌈 Nanning's "Cultural Exchange with ASEAN" event in Thailand is being held in Bangkok from June 25 to 28, 2025🎉. Through opera performances and intangible cultural heritage displays, the event promotes excellent traditional Chinese culture, building a new bridge for cultural exchange between China and Thailand🤝. Chinese and Thai artists will also perform together, painting a shared vision for cultural exchange❤️. 🌈 Nanning, a green city carrying the charm of Zhuang culture for thousands of years🌳, from the sour, spicy, and fresh flavors of local street food🍝, to the ethnic wisdom woven with needles and threads; from the powerful and passionate Yong Opera singing, to the thousand-year-old tea art fragrant with jasmine🍵—Nanning's cultural charm is crossing mountains and seas⛰️ to converse with the world. 【A Taste of Nanning: Old Friend Rice Noodles】 🍜 Nanning's Old Friend Rice Noodles have a long history, originating from the story of "Old Friends Always Welcome." In the past,🍻 a group of friends in Nanning often gathered for tea. One day, a friend fell ill and was bedridden, but recovered after eating a special noodle dish made by a teahouse owner.👍 To express gratitude, the friend gifted a plaque inscribed "Old Friends Always Welcome"🙏. Later, the dish evolved into Old Friend Rice Noodles, incorporating the rice noodles locals love. 👉 A bowl of Old Friend Rice Noodles🍜, half the city's warmth👈 😋 Its soul lies in the "old friend flavor"—garlic, fermented black beans, pickled bamboo shoots, pickled chili peppers, minced beef, vinegar, and bone broth stir-fried in a hot wok and cooked with flat rice noodles.🤩 The sour, spicy, and savory broth paired with silky rice noodles creates an exhilarating experience with every bite.🥳 【Centuries of Opera: Yong Opera】 👉 Where gongs and drums resound, Yong Opera moves hearts👈 Yong Opera, one of Guangxi's four major local opera genres, originated in Nanning (ancient name "Yongzhou") and has a history of hundreds of years🏞️. Its singing is powerful and passionate, with vigorous performances, especially known for martial arts scenes. Blending elements from Cantonese Opera and Gui Opera, it boasts unique Lingnan characteristics🤗. 🥰 Yong Opera captivates audiences with vivid facial makeup, elaborate costumes, and exquisite martial arts movements. In recent years, Nanning has promoted Yong Opera internationally through platforms like the "China-ASEAN Theater Week,"🥳 revitalizing this traditional art form. 【Splendid Zhuang Embroidery】 👉 Thread by thread, weaving Zhuang family affection👈 ☑️ Zhuang embroidery🪡, a fingertip art passed down through generations of Zhuang women, features intricate patterns and vibrant colors. ☑️ Common motifs include dragons, phoenixes, the sun🌞, flowers🌹, birds, and beasts,🌠 embodying the Zhuang people's aspirations for a better life. ☑️ The famous "Zhuang brocade"—🧶 woven with silk and cotton threads—has three-dimensional, full patterns and was once a tribute item, earning the reputation of "an inch of brocade, an inch of gold." 【A Millennium of Fragrance: Hengzhou Jasmine Tea】 👉 Steeped in jasmine's supreme aroma, ranked as the world's finest scent👈 ☑️ Hengzhou in Nanning is known as the "Hometown of Chinese Jasmine,"🌹 and its jasmine tea-making technique is a precious intangible cultural heritage of Guangxi. ☑️ Every summer,🌈 acres of jasmine bloom like snow, picked at dawn while dew still glistens to preserve the flowers' pure fragrance. ☑️ The tea leaves are repeatedly scented with fresh jasmine blossoms,👍 creating a unique flavor where "tea draws the flower's aroma, and flowers enhance the tea's taste." ☑️ When brewed, the tea is clear, fragrant, and mellow—a true treasure among teas. 🍜 From the warmth of Old Friend Rice Noodles,🎤 to the powerful rhythms of Yong Opera; from the splendor of Zhuang embroidery🧵, to the delicate fragrance of jasmine tea🌺—Nanning's culture is a feast for the senses: taste, sight, sound, and touch🤩. These cultural treasures not only carry history but also stride into the future through innovation, telling the world Nanning's extraordinary stories🎉. Images courtesy of Nanning Culture and Tourism