1 . The annual Yuyuan Garden lantern show in Shanghai is an important event in the city’s Chinese Lunar New Year celebrations for 28 years. It is one of the country’s oldest lantern fairs, where locals go to experience the festive atmosphere and wish each other well during the Spring Festival.

This year, the beloved Yuyuan Garden lantern show took place outside of China for the very first time, with 60 large-sized bright structures and more than 2,000 lanterns lighting the Jardin d’Acclimatation — the oldest amusement park in Paris, as a way to celebrate the 2024 Year of the Dragon with an interesting combination of Eastern and Western culture.

From dragon-shaped lanterns to motifs (图腾) inspired by the legendary world of Shanhai Jing (a book dating back to 2,000 years ago, regarded as a major source of Chinese mythology), the Yuyuan Garden lantern show in Paris built a world of lights and imagination for visitors, showing the charm of traditional Chinese culture.

Highlighting various cultural and spiritual symbols, the lantern displays include mythical creatures such as Kunpeng and Yinglong, representing ambition and strength.

Beyond the lanterns, the celebration in Paris also consisted of market events. Visitors could also admire traditional Chinese costumes and accessories, and enjoy traditional Chinese cuisine.

With a mixture of dancing, acrobatics (杂技) and martial arts performances, the lantern show was an impressive experience in the world of Chinese folklore and lanterns, which was open until February 25, 2024.

More than just a lantern show, it also served as an opening activity to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic (外交的) relations between China and France in 1964, which is also the China-France Year of Culture and Tourism.

2 . Chinese Festivals

As an ancient country, China has various festivals.

In the evening before the Spring Festival, families get together and have a big meal. Children also get lucky money from parents.

During this festival, there is special food called “tang yuan”, which is said to symbolize both the first full moon and family unity and completeness. Part of the Lantern Festival tradition involves a game to guess riddles (谜语) attached to the lanterns.

Stilt walking, drumming and the dragon and lion dance are the main entertainment forms of the Lantern Festival.

It is to celebrate the patriotic poet Qu Yuan, a loyal and highly respected minister, who brought peace and prosperity (繁荣) to the state but ended up drowning himself in a river as a result of being vilified (诽谤).

On the 7th day of the 7th lunar month, there is a traditional festival full of romance. Recently the youth have celebrated it as Valentine’s Day in China.

It is a traditional festival for both the Han and minority nationalities in China.The custom of worshipping (礼拜) the moon can be dated back to the ancient Xia and Shang dynasties. The Mid-Autumn Festival is also a holiday for members of a family to get together.

On the ninth day of the ninth month in the Chinese lunar calendar, people celebrate the Double Ninth Festival. People usually climb mountains and eat double-ninth cakes, which means our life will become better and better.

5 . I still remember my father’s embarrassment the day when he was invited to have dinner at a colleague’s house. Freshly arriving in Brazil, and not being able to look up on the Internet, he offended his hosts by making a hand gesture — a circle with the thumb and index finger. He had always understood it to mean “OK”, but in Brazil, it meant something different.

The incident was quickly forgotten. My father’s colleague understood that he probably wasn’t yet aware of the local meaning of the gesture. He gently explained it meant something rude, and then it was kept in mind under “things not to be done in Rio”.

I was reminded myself when touring China. After I replied to a friend’s WeChat message with a Van Gogh sticker that I thought meant “keep fighting”, another friend told me I used it wrong.

“The Chinese version is a bit different,” she said, taking out her phone and showing to me. “See these characters? They mean ‘I will hit you!’”

Life is full of crossed meanings. In India, you sign to someone to come over with your palm down, not up. And in the Middle East, you never use your left hand for anything public.

As adults, we understand that even if it hurts, a mistake is only an insult (侮辱) when it is made on purpose. Yet, many conflicts come from misunderstanding, and history is full of the unfortunate outcomes of cross-cultural communication.

My father’s pre-Internet Brazilian mistake was forgiven because of context — he had just arrived and he didn’t know its local meaning. But when context is absent or simply differently understood — especially in the social media — perhaps it is time we all think twice before typing or talking, especially when the consequences can be more severe than the misuse of a WeChat sticker.

6 . Whether it is for a special festival, to express thanks or to just let someone know that you care about them, giving gifts is a common custom. The purpose of giving gifts may be similar, but the tradition varies from country to country. A gift of respect in one place may be considered rude in another. Take a look at three unique gift-giving traditions.

India

If you’re invited to someone’s home in India, you should bring a small gift, whether it’s a box of chocolates or some flowers. Gifts shouldn’t be wrapped in black or white colors, because they are considered unlucky. Instead, use bright colors such as green, red or yellow. When giving money, it should have an odd number (奇数) value, which is believed to bring good luck. Instead of receiving a gift with-both hands, Indians generally only use their right hand because left hands are considered unclean.

Japan

For most Japanese, the ritual (礼节) of giving presents is more important than the gifts themselves. The correct way is to present or receive gifts with both hands. Every gift should be wrapped. That’s because un-covered gifts are considered disrespectful. To show politeness and thanks, people may turn it down once or twice before finally accepting it. Gifts should be given in pairs, but four should be avoided just like in China. Lucky numbers also include eight, for eight is said to bring prosperity (兴旺).

Native America

While it may be common for guests to prepare gifts for hosts, this is different in Native American communities. From weddings to birthday celebrations, guests are the ones who receive gifts. Gifts are usually homemade arts and crafts (手工艺品)-made by hand to show love, respect and appreciation.

7 . Learning about other cultures is a valuable experience. Gaining an understanding of other cultures benefits both you and other people by deepening your understanding of how different people are.    1    You can do research via the Internet or the local library, get to know other cultures in your community, and travel whenever possible.

    2    Choose culture you would like to learn more about. Subscribe to newspapers from that culture online to know more about what they are reading. Browse websites with data on entertainment, outings, politics, or trends.

Follow social media about your chosen culture. A great thing about the Internet is that it has made the world smaller and more accessible than ever.     3     Following people or organizations from other cultures on social media is a great way to directly learn from that culture about things like their values and fashion.

Ask questions online. There are plenty of ways to ask members of a culture questions about that culture online directly. Take a look at local communities and forums that accept questions or conversations.     4    

Look up YouTube videos. YouTube is another form of social media that allows passive watching or interaction. There are many channels on YouTube dedicated to a specific culture or some aspects of a culture.     5     Type into the YouTube search bar things such as “Learn about French culture” or “What do people in India commonly eat?”. Many YouTube channels talk about subjects like news, history, or gender norms. Search for videos with a specific subject in mind.

9 . The meaning of silence can be different among cultural groups. Silences may be thoughtful, or they may be empty when a person has nothing to say. A silence in a conversation may also show uneasiness or worry. Silence may be viewed by some cultural groups as extremely uncomfortable; therefore, attempts may be made to fill every gap (间隙) with conversation. Persons in other cultural groups value silence and view it as necessary for understanding a person’s needs.

Many Native Americans value silence and feel it is a basic part of communicating among people, just as some traditional Chinese and Thai persons do. Therefore, when a person from one of these cultures is speaking and suddenly stops, what may be implied (暗示) is that the person wants the listener to consider what has been said before continuing. In these cultures, silence is a call for reflection.

Other cultures may use silence in other ways, particularly when dealing with conflicts (冲突) among people or in relationships of people with different amounts of power. For example, Russian, French, and Spanish persons may use silence to show agreement between parties about the topic under discussion. However, Mexicans may use silence when instructions are given by a person in authority (权威) rather than be rude to that person by arguing with him or her. In still another use, persons in Asian cultures may view silence as a sign of respect, particularly to an elder or a person in authority.

Nurses and other care-givers need to understand the possible meanings of silence when they come across the personal anxiety their patients may be experiencing. Nurses should recognize their own personal and cultural construction of silence so that a patient’s silence is not interrupted too early or allowed to go on unnecessarily. A nurse who understands the healing (治愈) value of silence can use this understanding to assist in the care of patients from their own and from other cultures.

10 . It’s been nearly two decades since the traditional clothing style Hanfu first started to reemerge in China. Since then it has gone from a small cultural movement celebrating an ancient fashion to a trend that is booming on social media, having been adopted by China’s Generation Z as a means of connecting with their past. Instead of following other cultures blindly, Generation Z now have different opinions about what trend is by promoting local culture while having an objective view of exotic cultural products.

The new tastes of Generation Z—young people born after 1995—are well represented on Bilibili. In the recent New Year’s Eve gala presented by Bilibili, it attracted more than 100 million views within 48 hours with a colourful set of programmes ranging from Peking Opera to classical Chinese cartoons. The same is also true of movie industry. Last year, for the first time, the top 10 most viewed films in China were all domestic films, while the ticket sales for imported films have dropped to only 16.28 percent.

”Generation Z grew up with the rapid development of China and under good economic conditions. With the development of the Chinese Internet industry, they have more access to diverse international information and culture, which bring them a much broader vision and makes them more open and confident in analyzing foreign culture. Apart from taking pride in China’s rapid development, this generation also pursues individuality and values devotion to the country,“ Professor Zhang Yiwu said.

He also noted that the popular rock and punk culture pursued by the 70s and 80s generation is more of a challenge against real life and local culture. Some people who were born in the 1970s and 1980s did not grow up in the Internet age—they experienced the transformation of China going from poor to rich first-hand. This kind of longing and admiration of the West came from a lack of confidence.

However, Generation Z now have the confidence to look at Western culture with equal status. This kind of cultural confidence will result in China being more active and creative in its development on the international stage in the future.