Deng Yaping, table tennis world champion, and Jala Bernard-Willams, wife of Jamaica's ambassador to China, joined in a two-day cultural exchange tour in Jiangyong County. They visited the Nvshu Garden, Goulan Yao Village, and Shanggantang Village to promote Jiangyong culture and tourism to the world.

Deng Yaping (2nd L) and Jala Bernard-Willams, wife of Jamaica's ambassador to China (3rd L) try their hand at writing the Nvshu script. (Photo/Zhou Jialin)

They visited the Jiangyong Nvshu Ecological Museum and learned about the history of Nvshu or women's writing. Nvshu is the only existing script in the world used exclusively by women. In 2006, the "Nvshu customs" such as Zuogetang, a kind of folk custom featuring bridal songs during traditional weddings, and the Dou'niu Festival (sister festival), together with the women's script, were included in the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage items.

Jala Bernard-Willams learns to write Nvshu from a traditional practitioner of women's writing. (Photo/Zhou Jialin)

In the Goulan Yao Village, the delegation visited the Goulan Yao Mill Hall, the Farming Culture Hall, and other ancient buildings, listening to the work of the local government on the protection of cultural relics and the preservation of cultural traditions. The guests also experienced the traditional Yao "mud-washing banquet", bamboo pole dancing, and other special folk activities, speaking highly of the Yao oil tea, glutinous rice cakes, and other local delicacies.

The delegation visits the museum of the ancient Shanggantang Village. (Photo/Zhou Jialin)

The delegation paid a visit to the ancient commercial street of Shanggantang, engaging with the thousand-year-old village across time, space, and languages. The Shanggantang Village is one of the oldest and best-preserved ancient villages found in Hunan so far.

Jiangyong County is located on the southwest border of Hunan Province, at the junction of Hunan, Guangxi, and Guangdong, with rich and unique cultural and tourism resources. The area is known as "the most beautiful small town in China" and "the most culturally tasteful small town in China". The county has developed two boutique exploration routes, namely, the Nvshu Garden-Shanggantang Village "Female-themed Tour" and the Shanggantang-Goulan Yao Villages "Yao-Han Integrated Folklore Theme Tour", which are highly favored by tourists from Hunan, Guangdong, and Guangxi.
This article is from the Hunan Provincial Government www.enghunan.gov.cn.

責編：王柯灃

一審：王柯灃

二審：唐煜斯

三審：秦慧英

來源：湖南省政府門戶網(wǎng)