Making their own kind of music

　　Province using song and dance to share local charm with the world

　　"I have tried the maglev trains in Shanghai and some other cities, but Changsha's maglev train is the quietest and the most stable," Richard Daniel Vegh, from Canada, said during his journey to Changsha, capital city of Hunan province.

　　"I also learned that Hunan is a major province for rail transport technology and equipment, really impressive," Vegh said.

　　This happened on Dec 3 during Vegh's visit to Changsha in an activity themed "I Love Changsha - Foreign Friends' Tour in Changsha", which was held by the Changsha city government and invited more than 60 foreign visitors from around the world and dozens of media representatives.

　　The foreigners also paid a visit to the Longping Rice Museum and the Changsha Jiandu Museum, a gathering hall of historical bamboo scripts and artifacts.

　　A poetry recital was held as a cultural exchange between Chinese and foreign poets and fans. The foreign visitors then took part in the 2016 citizen concert.

　　In recent years, Changsha has been working to become an international metropolis and establish friendly and cooperative relations with 43 cities around the world, said Li Chunqiu, deputy mayor of Changsha.

　　A series of "Happy Changsha"-themed activities will strengthen cultural exchanges and cooperation with other countries, and cast a new light on Changsha's happy mountains, rivers, islets and the city, Li said.

　　The city and Hunan province also highlighted cultural exportation around the world.

　　In recent years, the Hunan Provincial Department of Culture organized a series of large-scale, distinctive cultural exchange activities with prominent Hunan style.

　　At the beginning of 2016, Hunan held an exhibition with the theme "Here is Hunan: Hunan culture in the United Nations" at the United Nations headquarters in New York City.

　　The exhibition showcased the beautiful mountains, folk culture and urban culture of Hunan via pictures, text, video and live performances.

　　During the 2016 Spring Festival, Hunan sent four groups of 103 visiting performers to Indonesia, the United States, Iraq, Jordan, Ethiopia, Equatorial Guinea and South Africa.

　　According to a government official in Hunan, a project named "Happy Spring Festival" in 2017 will send performers from the Hunan Province Song &Dance Theater, the Changsha Song &Dance Theater and other performance institutes to the US, South Korea, Tunisia, Mauritania, Thailand, and other countries and regions during Spring Festival.

　　The project will demonstrate Hunan culture by singing the sounds of Hunan and showcasing Hunan's unique charm.

　　Yan Fuchu, deputy director of the Hunan Provincial Department of Culture, said that the next five years will see Hunan integrate cultural resources all over the province with consideration of foreign visitors' tastes.

　　In this way, Hunan will promote its local cultural goals to let foreign culture in, so as to strengthen cultural exchanges at home and abroad, Yan said.

　　To date, 12 European countries have set up visa centers in Changsha.

　　Zheng Lihu, director of the Changsha Overseas and Foreign Affairs Office, said in the 13th Five-Year Plan period (2016-20) that more visa centers will be set up in the Hunan capital.

　　"Changsha will tie knots with more foreign cities to build sister city relations with them," he said.

Hunan's artists dance at a party with the audience for whom they performed traditional Chinese art in Ethiopia during the Spring Festival in 2016. Photos Provided To China Daily

Some 60 foreigners take part in "I Love Changsha－Foreign Friends' Tour in Changsha", a key program under the "Happy Changsha" project.

Khal Imanchuk Olena, an Ukrainian woman living in Changsha for more than nine years, deliver a speech at a "Happy Changsha" event.

Changsha primary school students recite a poem from The Book of Songs, the first anthology of verses in China, for foreign audiences during a "Happy Changsha" event.