"Leaving the Garden" is a traditional coming-of-age ceremony, unique to the Chaoshan region of Guangdong Province. It’s typically held on the seventh day of the seventh month of the lunar month (usually in August) or on another auspicious day, primary for youths who have turned 15.

Inscribed on the Guangdong Provincial Intangible Cultural Heritage List in 2018, this ceremony not only remains deeply rooted in its place of origin but has also spread to Canada, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand  through the migration of the Chaoshan people. It now serves as a cultural bond connecting Chaoshan communities both in China and abroad.

"Leaving the Garden" ceremony in Shantou (Photo by Shantou Culture Museum)

Core Rituals

The ceremony involves several symbolic acts:

Bathing and dressing: Youths bathe with water infused with 12 kinds of flowers. They then dress up with new clothes and red wooden clogs. A new bib containing twelve cinnamon balls and two ancient copper coins is often wore. This symbolizes the washing away of childishness.

Bathing and dressing (Photo by Shantou Culture Museum)

Worship and Gratitude: Participants worship the Gong Po God (公婆神), the guardian deity of children, to give thanks for past protection and signify leaving childhood behind. A gratitude ritual involves offering tea to parents.

Worshipping the Gong Po God

The Crossing Ceremony: Youths jumping over the Jiao lüe (胶掠, a bamboo utensil used for drying), symbolizing stepping out from the protective "garden" of childhood and parental shelter.

Jumping over the Jiao lüe (Photo by Shantou Culture Museum)

Symbolic Foods: Youths bite a chicken head symbolizes "standing out" or success (出人头地); consume sweet rice balls, red eggs, scallions, garlic, and celery wishes for success, progress, cleverness, and hard work.

How to join at home and abroad？

The "Leaving the Garden" ceremony is actively practiced by Chaoshan communities worldwide, often around the Qixi Festival (Double Seventh Festival).

Shantou, China

This year, Shantou’s “Leaving the Garden” activity was held in Shantou Chaoshan Historical and Cultural Expo Center, inviting 48 families from home and abroad to witness the event.

Shantou is an ancestral home of overseas Chinese. Zhao Kailin, an overseas Chinese from the Philippines, returned to Shantou with his child Zhao Zuxi to participate in the ceremony. He hoped that through such activities, his child, as the third generation of overseas Chinese, can always keep a heart for his hometown and the motherland.

At the event, a Qiaopi (侨批, remittance and letters overseas Chinese people sent home in old days) was exhibited, which was mailed by Mr. Zhuang Chenghui in 1933 from Singapore, asking the family to hold the “Leaving the Garden” ceremony for their children.

“Leaving the Garden” in Shantou Chaoshan Historical and Cultural Expo Center (Photo by Shantou Media Convergence Group)

Jieyang, China

In Jieyang, the “Leaving the Garden” event is typically held outdoors, often in a garden. Events organized by the governments of Rongcheng District and Jiedong District usually take place a week before the eve of the seventh day of the seventh lunar month, while those initiated by the public occur at a more flexible times.

Photo by Jieyang Rongcheng District Culture Museum

It may also include a section named “learning wisdom”. In the former sites of ancient school, youths receive pens from someone playing the role of the “No.1 scholar”, and beat a drum to express their aspirations clearly.

Photo by Jieyang Rongcheng District Culture Museum

Chaozhou, China

In Chaozhou, scholars give lectures to the public in communities, talking about Chaozhou’s “Leaving the Garden” customs and culture, aiming to enhance the dissemination of the intangible cultural heritage.

Scholar giving lectures to the public in communities (Photo by 文化潮州)

Malaysia 

As an annual activity organized by the Teochew Association of Malaysia, “Leaving the Garden” has been inherited for years in the country. Participating in the “Leaving the Garden” has become an opportunity for youths with Chaoshan roots to learn and experience the traditional folklore of their hometowns.

Canada 

On the seventh day of the seventh lunar month in 2022, the first Chaoshan Youth Coming-of-Age Ceremony - “Leaving the Garden” in Vancouver was organized by the Teochew Society of Vancouver and the Canada Chaoshan Business Association, with many youths participating in the event.

Photo by Nanfang Metropolis Daily

Reported by Zhou Jiyin

Edited by Yin Juewen