Every spring people from across Meihua race countless small boats along the red river in Hemen. Each boat is folded from paper and painted with wishes for the new year and races a course from the Snow bridge 雪橋 to Apricot bridge 杏橋. The boats resemble gold ingots, signifying prosperity, and good fortune is supposed to come to those whose boats complete the course, especially if they are the first to do so. Traditionally people wish for luck in relationships, fertility or family life, but wishes can be for anything from good fortune in business to a year of peace.
This is the place to make your boat for the race! You can either make a RL paper boat or a digital one -- see below for instructions. Add some of your wishes for the upcoming year, some thoughts of spring, or just some pretty designs! Then post your paper boat back in this thread for everyone to admire. ?
Actual: Here are some instructions for folding a paper boat:
Then post a photo here!
Digital: A blank template is provided below for you to decorate. You can download it and paint on it in MS Paint, Photoshop, GIMP, or any other photo editor, then save it and post it here.
click for template
Once you’ve made your boat, all you have to do is wait for the race, which will take place on discord at the very end of our celebration! (Don’t worry, if you forget to make your own boat you can still enter the race.)
Happy crafting!
