Chinese opera group spices celebration of China-Zambia diplomatic ties of 60 years

LUSAKA, Nov. 1 (Xinhua) — One of China’s most well-known art troupes spiced up celebrations of the 60th anniversary of China-Zambia diplomatic relations with a thrilling performance.
On Thursday night, the Zambia Chinese Association in collaboration with the Chinese Embassy in Zambia presented a cultural event as part of celebrations for the bilateral ties by showcasing Chinese dramas and musical compositions.
Presented by east China’s Zhejiang Wu Opera Research Center, the Wu Opera dazzled the audience, comprised of Chinese nationals and Zambian locals, who kept ululating and clapping for an encore.
They couldn’t help but take videos and photos of the intriguing performance.
The event saw the group providing various performances which included “9-Pieced Segment Dragon,” Suona Solo “Picking Dates,” Wu Opera “the goddess of heaven scatters flowers.”
Leonard Milomo, a resident of Lusaka, the capital of Zambia, was left mesmerized by the performance. Milomo said he was overwhelmed by the performance because it was something he had never seen.
“I am overwhelmed by the performance of our visitors from China. I have never seen such, it’s a very overwhelming feeling to be part of this partnership between Zambia and China, and it’s something that we also learn from culture and tradition,” he said in an interview.
Milomo said he would not hesitate to watch the performances anytime and that he was planning to visit during one of the holidays in order to have a feel of what China offers.
Chinese Ambassador to Zambia Han Jing said the frequent cultural exchanges and people-to-people exchanges between the two countries have brought the people of the two countries closer. And the cultural exchanges between the two countries have been happening frequently with art groups paying exchange visits.
Wu Opera, also known as Jinhua Opera, has a history of more than 500 years and is the second major regional operatic genre in Zhejiang Province. It first grew in popularity in Jinhua and its surrounding areas and was named after Wuzhou, the name of Jinhua in ancient China. ■