On May 27 when the Dragon Boat Festival was around the corner, more than 50 international students from Xiangya School of Nursing Central South University  joined the patients in the Yuelu District Spiritual Rehabilitation Center (Xinyue Clubhouse of Yuelu District ) in celebrating of the Dragon Boat Festival.

As the only one mental rehabilitation center officially registered in Yuelu District, Xinyue Center of Yuelu District is equipped with a world-class mental rehabilitation philosophy and a model originating from the United States. It is based on the belief that every patient could fully recover from the spiritual sequela of mental disorders and can regain a happy life. The center provides its members with psychological counseling, behavior correction, vocational training, counseling education, social platforms and employment support.

On that Sunday, Xinyue Rehabilitation Center, where friends of different colors and different mother tongues made bamboo-wrapped sticky rice dumplings together, was echoed with bursts of chatter and laughter. Some of the ingenious patients in the Center demonstrated how to make a sticky rice dumpling. First, they fold the bamboo leaves into a cone shape. Then, they added glutinous rice. Last, they knotted the sticky rice dumpling with colorful cotton strings. The volunteer interpreter translated what they said into English, repeating the vivid demonstration afterwards. The interpreter also introduced the origin of the Dragon Boat Festival, the connotation of dumplings and the course of life of Qu Yuan, enhancing foreign students’ knowledge of traditional Chinese culture. The center also prepared fragrance sachets and herb bags for international students and patients to make their personalized herbal sachets, an embodiment of good wish and commemoration which could also be used to dehumidify rooms and repel mosquitoes.

Under the guidance of the patients in the rehabilitation center, the international students showed great interest in many traditional techniques, such as card crafts and calligraphy, offering to learn these art on the spot. This says volume about the fact that art knows no borders despite the language barriers. During that morning, the international students embraced the profound and extensive Chinese culture while patients in the center felt love and care, contributing to the further spread of the model of community-based mental disorders rehabilitation.