

Expats try their hands at making zongzi in Guanren community in Xiamen on June 10. [Photo/xmnn.cn]
Expats from countries including Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Nigeria and Pakistan gathered in the Guanren community in Xiamen, East China's Fujian province on June 10, to celebrate the Dragon Boat Festival, also known as Duanwu Festival, which falls on June 14 this year.
Under the guidance of local volunteers, they learned to make zongzi, a rice dumpling that is consumed during the festival, and write with a Chinese ink brush.
Similar celebrations were also held at the School of Informatics of Xiamen University, where international students got a chance to learn about traditional Chinese culture.
The Duanwu Festival, which takes place on the fifth day of the fifth month on the Chinese lunar calendar, was established in remembrance of Qu Yuan, a ministerial scholar and patriotic poet of the state of Chu during the Warring States period (475-221 BC).
China has extended its 240-hour visa-free transit policy and Hainan's 30-day visa-free entry policy to citizens of Kyrgyzstan and Vietnam, the National Immigration Administration said on Aug 20.