Recently, Manjuelong Village in Xihu Subdistrict has become one of the hottest spots in Hangzhou. The event it kicked off, themed on “Osmanthus Appreciation and Intangible Cultural Heritage Inheritance at Manjuelong Village,” on October 10, has further increased its popularity. 

By 10:30 AM, the venue was already bustling with visitors, with neat rows of 90 stalls showcasing Hangzhou specialties, including sweet osmanthus, osmanthus-flavored Longjing tea, and osmanthus wine; there were also eight booths dedicated to intangible cultural heritage items, including lacquer fans, bamboo weaving, and hexiang (blended incenses).

Shen Rongyan, a representative inheritor of Hangzhou’s osmanthus food-making techniques, and Tang Hejun, a representative of West Lake Longjing tea, demonstrated the production of sweet osmanthus and osmanthus-flavored Longjing tea. Zhou Keyu, an inheritor of the hexiang-making technique, and Xu Songjie, a recognized artisan from Zhuji, also showed the audience the century-old intangible cultural heritage of their techniques.

According to Chen Jianli, the Party Secretary and head of the villagers’ committee of Manjuelong, this year’s event will run until November 20. In addition to fixed booths showcasing intangible cultural heritage items, there are stalls displaying and selling osmanthus products produced by local villagers.

After shopping around the venue, visitors are welcomed to wander through the village, tracing the source of the fragrant scent of osmanthus. 

Chen mentioned that, due to weather conditions, this year’s osmanthus has bloomed later than usual, and the second bloom period is on the horizon, expected to last about two weeks. Now is the perfect time to visit Manjuelong, which boasts over 7,000 osmanthus trees, some aged over a hundred years. In recent years, the village has planted an additional thousand osmanthus trees, mainly varieties like golden osmanthus, silver osmanthus, red osmanthus, and seasons osmanthus. 

Among the visitors is Mr. Cai who has come to work and settled in Hangzhou and visits Manjuelong every year around this time: “The moment I set my foot in the village, I can smell the sweet fragrance of osmanthus. Participating in the event in such an atmosphere is truly a natural delight.”