Expats embrace traditional craft in Luohu

The common area on the B1 floor of Shuibei One Plaza buzzed with activity as a group of expats participated in a DIY workshop on the traditional art of weaving colorful strings into bracelets during their visit to the neighborhood, a subvenue of this year’s China (Shenzhen) International Cultural Industries Fair (ICIF) in Luohu District, on Friday afternoon.

Pooneh Dabiri (R) displays the wristband she wove alongside her instructor at Shuibei One Plaza. Wang Haolan

“Pick a color you like, in addition to the red one, which is the base color,” an instructor told the expat visitors shortly after they sat at tables stocked with about 15 sets of colorful pre-cut strings.

“Fold the red string in half, evenly, then place the other colored string at a 90-degree angle behind the red one, like this,” the instructor said while the expats followed along.

Kerttu Hurvi, an exchange student at Shenzhen University (SZU) from Finland, chose her favorite shade of green and started weaving the strings. “It was definitely challenging for me in the beginning,” said Hurvi, who majors in economics. After several attempts, she got the hang of it and was halfway through in about 20 minutes.

She explained that she chose specific colors for her wristband because of their cultural significance. “Red is very Chinese, as I know Chinese people embrace red overall, whereas green in Finland symbolizes forests, which my home country is known for.”

Hurvi said she planned to finish weaving the wristband and give it to her niece as a gift when she returns to Finland after her exchange program.

Haris Memic, an entrepreneur from Montenegro now living in Shenzhen, said he would give the wristband to his fiancee. “Although it features two different styles, it looks nice, doesn’t it?” Memic laughed while showing his work.

He explained that he initially struggled with the hand movements but figured it out after one-on-one guidance from the instructor. Memic shared that there is a similar string-weaving craft in Montenegro, which involves either black or white. “It’s related to the Christian traditions.”

By the end of the workshop, Feifei Saidmuratou proudly wore the colorful wristband he had woven on his wrist. The SZU graduate student from Tajikistan said he appreciated this thoughtful gift from the workshop, although men wearing bracelets is not widely accepted in his home country.

He said he learned that during the Dragon Boat Festival in China, which falls this Saturday, people wear colorful woven wristbands to ward off evil spirits and bring good luck and health. “I will definitely wear it.”