Hunan Stages Cultural Exchange Performance in Auckland

On August 27, the "Embrace China and Charming Hunan" Cultural Exchange Performance, part of the 4th "Chinese Culture Day" (2023) of New Zealand, was staged at SkyCity Theatre in Auckland, New Zealand. The event was attended by nearly 1,000 people, including Chen Shijie, consul general of the Consulate-General of the People's Republic of China in Auckland; Zhang Fan, deputy director of the Hunan Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism; Tang Li, second-level inspector of the Hunan Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese; Dr Deborah Russell, minister of statistics of New Zealand; Mike Dawson, president of the Auckland Branch of the New Zealand China Friendship Society; Chen Naisi, member of the Labour Party of New Zealand; Michael Wood, member of the Labor Party and former minister of transport and immigration of New Zealand; Melissa Lee, a list MP for the National Party of New Zealand; Chen Shuizhen, president of the Overseas Chinese Association of New Zealand; Zelanian overseas Chinese; international friends; and, overseas students.

A series of programmes were staged, including the song "Liuyang River", a flower-drum opera show titled "Liu Hai Cuts Wood", a Hanfu dance called "National Beauty and Heavenly Fragrance", an erhu solo titled "Horse Racing", a Changsha tanci performance named "Taste of Changsha", and a popular song named "Good Morning Longhui". These performances evoked a profound sense of nostalgia among overseas Chinese.

This performance was jointly presented by the Overseas Chinese Art Troupe of Hunan Provincial Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese and the Art Troupe of New Zealand Overseas Chinese Union. Among them, the performers from the Overseas Chinese Art Troupe of Hunan Provincial Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese were mainly selected and dispatched by the Hunan Flower Drum Opera Protection and Inheritance Center.

The "Embrace China and Charming Hunan" Cultural Exchange Performance aims to promote fine traditional Chinese culture and Hunan. So far, 65 performances have been staged in 27 countries and regions including the United Arab Emirates, Kenya, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Australia. The event has received high praise from overseas Chinese, international friends, and Chinese diplomatic and consular missions.

This article is from the Hunan Provincial Government www.enghunan.gov.cn.

Translator: Xiao Juan

Chinese source: official WeChat account of Hunan Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism