Participants show off their fans for a group photo. [Photo/hbjt.com]

Chinese and foreign residents, college students and teachers, and traditional Chinese cultural enthusiasts recently tried their hands at making fans in Yanlan residential community in Hangzhou.

Xian Yifu, a practitioner of the traditional handicraft, introduced the history of the art and guided participants through the process of making their own folding fans.

"The frame of traditional folding fans is made of bamboo. There are 108 steps involved in turning the raw material into polished products and every step must be carried out with extreme carefulness," Xian said.

Ma Long, an American living in Yanlan residential community, wrote his Chinese name with a Chinese calligraphy brush pen.

"I tried my best and Chinese calligraphy is really fun," he said.

Yanlan residential community is one of the most famous international communities in Hangzhou and is home to a large number of foreigners.

The community has arranged a variety of activities and facilities to enrich the cultural lives of local residents, including setting up a public service station, an elderly care center, a youth club, a reading room, a billiards room, a calligraphy and painting classroom, and fitness facilities such as a ping-pong table treadmill.

Ma Long, an American living in Yanlan community, shares his feelings on the activity. [Photo/hbjt.com]