Peonies Across the Ocean: A Round-Fan Travels from Yuncheng, Heze to New Jersey

　　On August 16, 2026, Johnson Park in New Jersey, United States, lay bathed in bright sunlight. Barbecue grills emitted sizzling sounds, and the air was filled with the mixed aroma of charcoal and cumin. Off-stage, a voice with a Shandong accent called out: “President Zhang, time for the group photo!”

　　Fresh from hosting duties, sweat glistened at her temples as Zhang Li held a round fan decorated with peony-themed paper-cuts. The fan featured delicate artwork; stirred by the breeze, the paper-cut petals curled softly, almost slipping from her hands.

　　This was the annual outdoor gathering hosted by the New Jersey Chinese Community Council. The New Jersey Shandong Association took part as a major participating organization. Attendees included Li De, Deputy Director of the Consular Affairs Section of the Chinese Consulate General in New York, local state legislators, school board members, as well as political and business representatives. Zhang Li co-hosted the event with well-known artist Bill Engst. One spoke Chinese and the other English, and they brought joy to the audience.

　　The crowd soon gathered around the exhibition area. Once peony-themed calligraphy, paintings and paper-cut works from Yuncheng, Heze, Shandong Province were put on display, crowds quickly formed, with many visitors raising their smartphones to capture the art pieces.

　　Zhang Li unfolded a calligraphy scroll titled Colourful Heze, running her finger lightly over the dry-brush strokes of the Chinese characters for “Heze”. “This piece was hand-penned by Zhang Mengxi, a member of both the Heze Artists Association and Heze Calligraphers Association. Its brushwork is powerful yet fluid,” she introduced, speaking as if presenting a dear friend who had traveled thousands of miles to attend the event.

　　Next, she opened the painting Blooming Prosperous Times, created by the Yuncheng Peony Calligraphy-and-Painting Research Centre of Caozhou Academy of Painting and Calligraphy. A grey-haired overseas Chinese removed his sunglasses, leaned close to observe the painting for nearly half a minute. He swallowed softly and murmured: “It reminds me of peonies back home, yet it has its own unique charm.” He held up his phone, capturing the vivid red peony on screen.

　　David Suchocki, a local public-office candidate in a dark suit, gently touched the edge of one painting before drawing his hand back. “These works are stunning. They give me a genuine sense of the charm of Chinese culture,” he commented.

　　Bill Engst provided English commentary on the distinctive cutting texture of paper-cut art, explaining how asymmetrical hollow-out patterns reflect the aesthetic spirit of Eastern art. Anjana Patel listened intently, her gaze fixed on the bright-red paper-cut pieces. A young Chinese-American girl whispered to her mother: “Were these cut by a machine?” Her mother shook her head. “Every pattern is hand-crafted, one snip at a time.” The girl then pulled out her phone and began recording video.

　　As the sun sank low, long shadows spread across the lawn. One attendee held a paper-cut up toward sunlight, revealing fine, detailed veins of the peony shining through the thin paper.

　　“Paper-cut artworks are fragile and cannot stand wind or rain,” Zhang Li noted. “Still, they are able to cross oceans, because people cherish and protect them with great care.”

　　In recent years, Yuncheng County, Heze, has been actively advancing international cultural and people-to-people exchanges and further building its cultural brand “One City, One Yun(Rhyme)”. Through programs including Chinese Martial Arts Go Globaland Books, Opera and Sea: Heritage Conveyed by Intangible Culture, local intangible cultural heritage resources — martial arts, traditional opera, paper-cutting, calligraphy-and-painting, lacquerware and more — are presented to global audiences, letting people around the world experience the appeal of fine traditional Chinese culture.