The Foreigner's Fortune Quest丨Explore intangible cultural heritage in Fuzhou, the living museum

Editorial Note: Fuzhou, known as the "City of Blessings," is nestled among the mountains of southeastern China's Fujian Province. With its famous "Three Mountains and Two Towers," this thousand-year-old city is a harmonious blend of natural wonders and cultural heritage. Blessed by majestic mountains and nurturing waters, its neat alleyways and bustling streets are home to a wealth of history and human ingenuity. But what truly makes Fuzhou "blessed"? Recently, a group of international visitors embarked on a quest to uncover the city's hidden treasures. Let's join them in discovering Fuzhou's timeless charm today.

Culture is the soul of a city, and intangible cultural heritage (ICH) works are vessels of collective wisdom. In this episode, British visitor Hannah dives into Fuzhou's ICH universe at the Fuzhou Intangible Cultural Heritage Exhibition Hall, where she masters the intricate art of cork painting—a traditional craft where cork slices are meticulously shaped into landscapes and cultural symbols. Later, aboard a Fuzhou boat, Hannah navigates the city’s labyrinthine waterways, tracing connections between ancient hydraulic engineering, eco-friendly fishing practices, and the poetic rhythms embedded in local boat-building traditions. As she touches the textures of century-old wooden boat carvings and listens to fishermen share legends about the river’s "spirit guardians," one truth becomes clear: Fuzhou isn’t just a city—it's a living museum where every ripple carries a story, and every cultural heritage thread weaves into the fabric of human creativity. (By Lin Ying)