On Oct 3, 2026, “Future Resonance · ShanghaiEye Night” China-U.S. People-to-People Exchange and “Amazing Shanghai” City Promotion Series Events were held in Washington, D.C. The event was guided by the Information Office of Shanghai Municipality and co-hosted by Shanghai Media Group, the World Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection Center, and the Washington Chinese Community Alliance.
YUYUAN Inc., a globally leading family happiness consumption industry group rooted in China, showcased a series of cultural and creative products from Intangible Cultural Heritage projects and time-honored brands including Yuyuan Lantern Festival, Huxinting Teahouse and Liyunge. Under the theme of “Grand Yuyuan Intangible Cultural Heritage,” it engaged in friendly interactions with local residents and tourists through exhibitions, experiences and exchanges. During the event, the organizers also presented awards to honor selected international friends and institutions that have made outstanding contributions to the cause of China-U.S. friendship. YUYUAN Inc. was awarded the “Future Resonance” Special Contribution for People-to-People Cultural Exchange.
As one of Shanghai’s renowned urban cultural landmarks, the Grand Yuyuan Area also stands as an important historical witness to people-to-people and cultural exchanges between China and the United States. In 1971, during their visit to Shanghai, members of the U.S. table tennis delegation made a special trip to Yuyuan, creating a memorable ice-breaking episode in “Ping-Pong Diplomacy.” In recent years, various youth groups—including the American One Voice Choir and a youth pickleball exchange delegation from Maryland—have successively visited the Grand Yuyuan Area, experiencing firsthand the charm of China’s intangible cultural heritage, renewing friendship through sports and cultural exchanges, and continuously injecting youthful vitality into China-U.S. people-to-people diplomacy.
Hu Junjie, Vice President and Spokesperson of YUYUAN Inc., attended the relevant event and met with representatives of international organizations, including the World Intangible Cultural Heritage Conservation Center, to exchange views on cooperation in the protection and inheritance of intangible cultural heritage worldwide. He said: “From Grand Yuyuan in Shanghai to the National Mall in Washington, D.C., we have specially brought lantern-themed cultural and creative products inspired by the Yuyuan Lantern Festival, a national-level intangible cultural heritage, along with various time-honored brand products. This not only allows local residents to experience in advance the festive atmosphere of the intangible cultural heritage Spring Festival and Lantern Festival, but also serves as a display of Oriental Lifestyle Aesthetics that can be touched and experienced. We hope that by making Chinese intangible cultural heritage culture dynamic, tangible, and fashionable, we can promote its better integration into modern life, and enable young people around the world to gain a deeper and closer understanding of the charm of Chinese intangible cultural heritage and the significance of cultural inheritance. In the future, we will further promote Chinese intangible cultural heritage, including the Yuyuan Lantern Festival, going global. At the same time, we will join hands with international organizations to bring world intangible cultural heritage into China, using the Grand Yuyuan Area as the core to create a ‘Global Intangible Cultural Heritage Fashion Showcase,’ allowing mutual learning among civilizations to take place in this area.”
At the “Shanghai Let’s Meet” cultural exhibition held on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., “Grand Yuyuan Intangible Cultural Heritage” themed exhibition area marked the first time the Grand Yuyuan Area connected with the international stage. As the “Global Intangible Cultural Heritage Fashion Showcase” meticulously built by YUYUAN Inc., it is developing into China’s first cultural, commercial, and tourism urban landmark that brings together Chinese intangible cultural heritage and global cultures. In this area, Yuyuan Tourist Mart, positioned as the “China’s Intangible Cultural Heritage Innovation Hub,” and the Bund Finance Center (BFC), positioned as the “Global Intangible Cultural Heritage Cultural Dialogue Venue,” are working in tandem to enable continuous dialogue between Chinese intangible cultural heritage and world civilizations.
At the exhibition, a concentrated display of multiple intangible cultural heritage cultural and creative products and time-honored brand products with Shanghai characteristics were presented. The “Cloud Steed Chasing Dreams – Official Year of the Horse Handheld Lantern” from Yuyuan Lantern Festival became a popular interactive photo spot at the venue, with many American residents coming forward to experience carrying the lanterns and take photos; the Huxinting Teahouse “Jade Cup Pavilion Breeze” tea set gift box integrated the architectural imagery of the century-old teahouse into the porcelain design, attracting residents and tourists to stop and examine it, handle it, and take photos to share; the Liyunge folding fan and the Shanghai Chopsticks Store’s chopsticks respectively presented Shanghai-style fan art and Chinese chopstick culture. At the scene, people not only viewed these intangible cultural heritage cultural and creative products from Shanghai up close, but also actively participated in check-in activities, experiencing the unique charm of traditional Chinese culture integrated into contemporary life through exchange and interaction.
In recent years, YUYUAN Inc. has continued to promote Chinese culture and time-honored brands overseas: the Yuyuan Lantern Festival has set sail to Paris and Bangkok; Huxinting Teahouse has presented intangible cultural heritage tea art in Hamburg; Songhelou has opened in London; and Nanxiang Steamed Buns Restaurant has entered Bangkok. From lantern festivals to tea arts, from Oriental flavors to Chinese craftsmanship, “Grand Yuyuan Intangible Cultural Heritage” continues to explore the international expression of Chinese culture. It is worth noting that Chinese Intangible Cultural Heritage is becoming a focal point of global youthful and fashionable attention. It is no longer merely a static presentation of ancient craftsmanship, but a new trend for the younger generation to understand Oriental Lifestyle Aesthetics and express individual attitudes.
With intangible cultural heritage as the core, fashion as the language, and exchange as the scenario, the Grand Yuyuan Area allows traditional craftsmanship, contemporary aesthetics, and international trends to inspire each other, and also enables Chinese Intangible Cultural Heritage to gain a lighter, more everyday, and more communicable contemporary expression through the attention and participation of young people around the world.
