Fragrant Rice Leaves, Lasting Team Bond — A Record of Yibaling’s Dragon Boat Festival Team Building Event

“Here, fold the bamboo leaf into a funnel shape, and I’ll fill it with glutinous rice.”

“You tied it far too loose; it’ll fall apart when boiled!”

“No worries, we’ll just have rice porridge if it breaks.”

Laughter echoed through the cafeteria. On this day, Yibaling’s meeting room and cafeteria were temporarily transformed into a handcraft workshop for zongzi (glutinous rice dumplings).

On the eve of the Dragon Boat Festival, Yibaling hosted a distinctive team building activity featuring zongzi-making, sachet crafting and interactive games. Engineers who normally spend their days working on transformers, voltage stabilizers and frequency converters got a chance to step away from their busy work schedules and embrace the warmth of a traditional festival. Colleagues from different departments also bonded and deepened mutual understanding through teamwork.

Zongzi-Making: Chaotic Hands, Cheerful Atmosphere

Taste was secondary — the lively fun of making zongzi together took center stage.

Tables were laden with all ingredients: glutinous rice, bamboo leaves, red dates, salted egg yolks and streaky pork. Most colleagues were first-time zongzi makers, and veteran staff demonstrated the proper folding and wrapping techniques. Some picked up the skill neatly, while others mastered the craft in theory only to struggle the moment they picked up the leaves.

Xiao Li from the Sales Department spent a full five minutes wrapping his first zongzi, only for it to fall apart less than three minutes after being put into the pot. The whole room burst into laughter; some snapped photos to mark the funny moment, others gave on-the-spot tutorials, and a few volunteered to clean up the broken dumplings, which turned into an unexpected afternoon snack for everyone.

“I’ve only ever eaten ready-made zongzi during festivals before, never made them myself. Even though mine look lopsided, I feel such a great sense of accomplishment,” a newly joined post-00s employee grinned.

Sachet Crafting: Delicate Handiwork No Match for Engineers

In contrast to the boisterous zongzi-making session, the sachet-making segment unfolded in a calm, peaceful mood.

Tables were stocked with mugwort, lavender and mint for everyone to mix and sew into custom herbal sachets. Hands accustomed to holding soldering irons and winding coils handled needles and threads with surprising dexterity.

Chen from the Technical Department filled his sachet with mosquito-repellent herbs to hang in his bedroom at home. “This handmade sachet means far more than store-bought ones, and the natural scent is one of a kind.”

Everyone concentrated on their miniature crafts, stitching the fabric, filling it with aromatic herbs and tying off the ends with ribbons. The uniquely shaped sachets later hung at workstations, becoming the most eye-catching decorations around the company that day.

Since we couldn't get out on the water, we turned the dragon boat race into a tabletop version — a "land dragon boat" relay. Four teams raced cardboard boats across the tables, passing them along in turns. Laughter didn't stop the whole time.

Each team had a different approach. Some went allout for speed. Others focused on smooth handoffs and steady coordination. And one team seemed to have no strategy at all — just pure luck — but somehow ended up taking first place.

The winning team got a trophystyle gift box filled with zongzi. But honestly, everyone agreed the real prize was the photos and the laughter we shared that day.

Still, all staff agreed the real reward was the flood of joyful photos and memories created throughout the day.

The True Meaning Behind the Activity

Team building is far more than a shared meal or group photos. Bringing cross-departmental staff together to chat and collaborate delivers more powerful team cohesion than any formal training session.

“Working on the production floor, I rarely get to interact with colleagues from Sales and International Trade. Making zongzi side by side today, I’ve realized how fun and approachable everyone really is,” a senior production line worker shared.A company’s growth hinges on seamless coordination across every department. This synergy does not always have to be forged in formal boardrooms. Sometimes it emerges from a shared trick for wrapping zongzi, or a helping hand lent mid-game.