Series Report on Summer Practice in 2022 – 2nd Practice Day of the Students in Grade 2020 Majoring in Music in Enshi, Lichun and Badong

At about 9:30 in the morning, we took the bus to our first stop of the day - Xinyi Kindergarten in Lichuan. Xinyi Kindergarten is not just an ordinary kindergarten; it is also the inheritance base of the intangible cultural heritage "Flesh-patting Dance". "Flesh-patting Dance" is a traditional folk dance that makes rhythmic sounds by patting the forehead, shoulders, cheeks, arms, elbows, waist, legs and other parts with hands. It is also an international intangible cultural heritage project and one of the three established intangible cultural heritage projects in Lichuan City. As soon as we entered the gate of the kindergarten, we saw a group of children who had already lined up for our arrival. Accompanied by music, they shouted "Hey! Hey! Ha! Ha" in a childish voice and performed the “Flesh-patting Dance” for us in a serious and neat way. Looking at their cute and serious appearance, we were all “hit the heart”.

Then, we followed Liu Shouhong, the fifth-generation inheritor of “Flesh-patting Dance” and secretary of the party branch of Xinyi Kindergarten, to the activity classroom to learn. Since 2006, Mr. Liu Shouhong has been exploring the mode of inheritance, widely disseminating the Tujia culture to the outside world, and making positive contributions to the inheritance of the “Flesh-patting Dance”.

After watching the wonderful “Flesh-patting Dance”, Mr. Liu Shouhong started to teach us some basic movements of the dance in groups, so that we could experience the charm of “Flesh-patting Dance”. The teacher's enthusiasm and energy infected everyone, and everyone was very serious during the process of learning. Finally, we sang "A Folk Song to the Party" to the great Communist Party of China for its founding day.

After leaving the kindergarten, we arrived at Enshu Tujia Girls’ Town by bus. Although Enshi Tujia Girls’ Town is the eighth man-made ancient town in China, it fully embodies the harmony and unity between man and nature, and is also the embryonic form of Tujia culture in China. After placing our luggage, we learned some knowledge about water-grinding and lacquering technique from professional teachers, and gained some understanding of the national intangible cultural heritage project Ba Lacquer in Enshi.

Then, we made water-grinding lacquer bookmarks under the guidance and careful instruction of teachers. We polished the bookmarks patiently, learning and practicing at the same time. I believe that after today's practice, whenever we see the bookmark in the future, we will definitely remember what we learned today related to water-grinding and lacquering techniques.

After making the bookmarks, we went to the Ba Ren Tang Restaurant, where we enjoyed local food, local songs and dances, and some students also had a taste of "bowl dropping". With the sound of crisp bowl dropping, we ended our dinner.

It was planned that there would be an interactive performance for the CPC Founding Day after dinner, but unfortunately it rained heavily after singing “Without the Communist Party there would be no new China”, so the activity had to be cancelled. But this not-so-perfect ending also made today’s practice more memorable.