To feel the charm of Cangnan via nursery rhymes, what kind of unique experience and beautiful feeling should it be?

"I never thought that in Cangnan, Wenzhou, apart from the beautiful scenery, I can also appreciate the culture behind the nursery rhymes in the Southern Fujian dialect here..." Jodee, a Canadian host of Wenzhou Overseas Media Center, shared her feeling with us.

From today, the series of bilingual video programs "Feeling the Charm of Cangnan Via Nursery Rhymes" will be successively posted onto various Chinese and English media platforms both at home and abroad. In this episode, following the "Shiluo Song" in the Southern Fujian dialect, Jodee checked out Zaoxi Town and Fanshan Town in Cangnan County and experienced their cultural features and local customs and practices.

During the video-shooting, in the company of Mr. Zhou Gongqing, a member of the Chinese Folk Artists Association, Jodee learned about Cangnan through the "Shiluo Song", a nursery rhyme in the Southern Fujian dialect. According to the introduction of Mr. Zhou, Cangnan nursery rhymes are a microcosm of Cangnan culture, agglomerating the deep-seated cultural genes of Cangnan folk, condensing Cangnan’s local customs, showing moral demeanor, conveying wisdom information, and containing profound folk memories. 

The first stop of the video-shooting was Zaoxi Town, which is surrounded by mountains and rivers, rich in human history, and historical relics of various dynasties such as the Tang and Song dynasties. Among them, the most worth mentioning is Zaoxi Old Street. It is reported that Zaoxi Old Street was an important traffic hub in the nearby mountainous areas during the Qing Dynasty. Tea and tobacco were transferred here, then sold to various places of China and even overseas. After two hundred yearsof changes, though the Zaoxi Old Street has undergone major changes, many traditional buildings are still well-preserved, witnessing the historical changes of the old street. 

Afterwards, Jodee went to Fanshan Town, another place where Southern Fujian dialect is still  spoken by local people. The mining and refining of Fanshan alum has a history of more than 600 years, so Fanshan is known as the "world alum capital". In addition, Fudewan Village, located in Fanshan Town, has ancient streets, traditional houses and shops, as well as many ruins of alum refining. In September 2016, Fudewan won the UNESCO Asia-Pacific Cultural Heritage Protection Honor Award. In Fanshan Town, Jodee also tasted the well-known local snack "Meat Yan" which amazed her so much.