A boat journey, a drum circle beneath the trees, and a conversation about art: at Qingshan Lake in Hangzhou, families and international students from an art academy came together for Drumming Mountains & Lakes, a cultural exchange built around shared experiences.
The gathering brought parents, children and students into the same activities, moving from introductions on the water to music, discussion and hands-on making. Rather than leaving cultural exchange at the level of a greeting, it gave participants something to do together.
Meeting on the water
The day began with a boat journey on Qingshan Lake. As families and students introduced themselves, the landscape offered a natural starting point for conversation. Travelling together made the opening encounter less formal, with time to talk before the activities ahead.
For the children, the new people they met were international students studying art. For the parents, the outing was an opportunity to take part alongside their children, rather than simply watch from the sidelines.
Finding a shared rhythm
The African drumming session brought the group together beneath the trees. The photographs capture raised hands, attentive faces and smiles around the drums. Children, parents and students joined the same circle, contributing their own responses to the collective sound.
Here, conversation did not depend entirely on words. Listening to another person’s beat, noticing a pause and answering with a rhythm of your own became part of the exchange. The emphasis was on joining in and paying attention to one another, not on delivering a polished performance.
Art as a starting point for conversation
The cultural salon turned to Chinese blue-and-green landscape aesthetics and painting. International students from the art academy shared perspectives shaped by their studies and cultural backgrounds, while families and reading-group guests contributed their own observations.
The surrounding scenery provided a connection between looking at a landscape and discussing how it might be expressed in art. Different interpretations could sit alongside one another, making room for questions as well as explanations.
For a family activity, that two-way format mattered. The students were fellow participants in the conversation, and parents and children had a place within it too.
Making a keepsake together
The hands-on session carried the artistic theme into a folding, fan-shaped book lamp inspired by the blue-and-green landscapes of A Thousand Li of Rivers and Mountains. Parents and children worked together on the piece, while students and other guests exchanged creative ideas.
The finished lamp offered a tangible reminder of the gathering. Its significance lay not only in its appearance, but in the time spent making it together: an object connected to a shared outing, a conversation and a new acquaintance.
A group photograph, and a shared memory
The group photograph captured the people who had shared the experience. Families and international art students had met through the event, then spent time boating, drumming, discussing art and making something by hand.
Drumming Mountains & Lakes made cultural exchange a participatory experience. The boat journey ended and the drums fell quiet, but the photographs and handmade pieces remained as records of a day spent creating and connecting at Qingshan Lake.
Explore more of the region through our Hangzhou travel guide, or contact CHINA FACE to discuss cultural experiences for your group.