Water town lantern art and zizania leaf weaving, two intangible cultural heritages of Qingpu District,were showcased atthe“2025 Shanghai Spring Reception”at Oriental Pearl Tower’s revolving restaurant on January 16, receiving warm applauds from both Chinese and international guests.

The reception,hosted by the Shanghai Municipal Foreign Affairs Office, the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office, and the Shanghai People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, gatheredmore than400 attendees, including consuls general and their spouses, Magnolia Award recipients, representatives from sister cities, foreign journalists, international friends residing in Shanghai, and representatives from various municipal departments and districts, to celebrate the New Year.

Qingpuwatertownlanternart, derived from Songze culture, features unique water town characteristics. Most designs are biomimetic.The lively and elegant designs include classic lotus, goldfish and rabbit lanterns, as well as intricately crafted horse, elephant and crane lanterns. These exquisite and auspicious lanterns captivated international gueststostop to admire and take photos.

The picturesque Jiangnan water townalso hasa unique craft known aszizanialeafweaving. In the 1990s, folk artisans from Liantang in Qingpu combined the local zizania planting industry with weaving techniques using grass, bamboo and willow to create this craft from discarded zizania leaves.

It represents the inheritance and innovation of Liantang’s folk artistry and is a testament to the area’sfolkwisdom.

In 2018, the craft was included in the Qingpu District’s list of intangible cultural heritage.