As Spring Festival celebrations unfolded across China, Yuncheng County Library in Heze, Shandong province, welcomed visitors from Norway for a hands-on cultural exchange program.

The event opened with a calligraphy session. Zhao Yong, a member of the Chinese Calligraphers Association, and Liu Xiangjie, a member of the Shandong Young Calligraphers Association, guided the Norwegian visitors in writing the characters "Fu", a symbol of blessing, and "Chun", meaning spring. Through these simple strokes, the foreign visitors began to understand the New Year blessings embodied in the character "Fu".

Nearby, Li Chao, a member of the Shandong Artists Association, sketched and painted on the spot, bringing peonies and winter jasmine to life with fluid lines and subtle ink washes. The visitors crowded in for a closer look, praising the works and pulling out their phones to take photos.

At the paper-cutting table, the crowd was just as lively. With a few quick snips, Zhang Lu and Sun Qi, designated inheritors of Yuncheng paper-cutting, transformed red paper into peonies and other auspicious window decorations.

One visitor, Johnson Christian Espolin, took up the scissors and tried to follow along. Though he was new to the craft, he was delighted with what he had made. "This is a particularly meaningful gift," he said.

After the hands-on activities, the visitors turned to another essential part of the festival: food. Yuncheng flower cakes, a local pastry symbolizing wishes for progress and a sweet life, offered them a taste of the Spring Festival. With the first bite, the aroma of wheat and the sweetness of fruit filled their mouths. The visitors ate them slowly, and some even tucked theirs away to take home.

The group then moved to the library's reading area, which features Chinese and international classics. From the loyalty and heroism of Water Margin, also known as Outlaws of the Marsh, to the poetic charm of The Little Prince, they shared thoughts and exchanged views, with words serving as a bridge across cultures.