OVERSEAS STUDENTS FIND FUN AND ELEGANCE IN FAN PAINTING

OVERSEAS STUDENTS FIND FUN AND ELEGANCE IN FAN PAINTING

A group of overseas students from Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine learn fan painting, a time-honored traditional Chinese art, on June 14.

A group of overseas students from Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine (SHUTCM) immersed themselves in a fan painting class, a time-honored traditional Chinese art, on June 14.

Learning that ancient Chinese calligraphers and painters liked to paint or write on the paper fans to express their thoughts and feelings, the overseas youngsters were eager to try their hands at the ancient tradition.

Letting their imaginations run wild, the students created a variety of vivid figures, such as pandas, bamboo shoots, and peach blossoms, bringing out a refreshing and elegant feeling.

The students were also deeply impressed by the unique method in composing a picture -- a perfect integration of ink painting skills, fan shapes, patterns, and inscriptions.

A school keen to provide overseas students with various cultural experiences, SHUTCM held a series of creative activities in the spring semester. For example, the 90-minute-long Shanghai dialect class in May, by offering students hands-on experience of the native language's history, development, tones, and pitches, has seen the foreign youngsters fluent in saying numbers, dates, and daily expressions.

Students pose for a group photo with their painted fans on June 14.