May Culture Be an Ever-Flowing River
—— On Inner Mongolia Art Troupe' s Concert and Exhibition in Belgium and France
Opening Concert of the China Arts Festival in EU Photo by Cheng Guichao
The Opening Concert of the China Arts Festival in EU Photo by CHENG Guichao
From May 16 th to 24 th , , in the mild weather and lustrous environment of Europe, a 43-person Inner Mongolia art troupe staged ethnic concerts and photo exhibitions in Brussels and Paris on the occasion of the 3rd China Arts Festival in the EU.
The China Arts Festival in the EU started in Brussels in 2015 as a regular mechanism for culture and art exchanges between China and EU. Initiated by CFLAC and the Chinese Mission to the EU, it has undergone rapid progress and become a new platform for China-EU people-to-people communication and another staunch bridge for friendship.
As 2017 marks the 70th anniversary of the establishment of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, select ethnic performances and photography artworks with Inner Mongolian features were presented at the Festival, showing the rich and diverse culture as well as beautiful nature and ats of Inner Mongolia to Europe.
The Inner Mongolia art troupe fully enjoyed the hospitality of Belgium and French hosts. Its visit basked in friendship and harmony. On May 18th, the Festival was launched at Theatre Saint Michel in Brussels, where the art troupe staged the‘Sound of Grassland’concert and the‘Beautiful Inner Mongolia’photography exhibition. It was a century-old theatre carrying historical weight whose last overhaul of seats happened in the 1950s.
At the concert, renowned Mongolian musicians such as Burenbayaer, Wurina, Wulantuya, Saqieronggui and young dance masters such as Lidegejing and Jinnina presented an ethnic art extravaganza. There were the hearty Morin khuur classic music of Galloping Horse Herd , the well-sung grassland song of Green Grassland , the famous Mongolian long-tone song of Brown Eagle, the Mongolian Khoomei music masterpiece of Ode to Heroes , the folk dance Blessings , etc., showcasing the longstanding and profound glamour of ethnic culture, arts and national intangible cultural heritages in Inner Mongolia. The European audience enjoyed the exquisite show with spontaneous clapping to the rhythm and long standing ovation at its closure. One audience, Lauren said that given China’s lasting history and extensive culture, it surely is a pity that nowadays young people in the West do not understand Chinese culture. As the development of civilizations cannot dispense with exchanges and mutual learning, overseas Chinese cultural activities do provide opportunities for the people there to expand their eyesight to and have a close feeling about China.
The‘Beautiful Inner Mongolia’photography exhibition was held at the theatre lobby. 80 artistic photos displayed the natural landscape, ethnic minorities’ customs and great changes in people’s lives in Inner Mongolia. Audience exiting the concert hall slowed their footsteps for the vivid life scenes. There in their eyes were evident desires to understand China and capture the Uniquebeauty of Inner Mongolia.
After the events in Belgium, the art troupe extended its visit into France by bus. The Paris concert took place at on the afternoon of May 21st. Mr. Li Shaoping, Minister Counselor for culture of the Chinese Embassy, said that China and France stand as leading representatives of Eastern and Western cultures. Deepening cultural exchanges between the two countries is not only of strategic necessity for the on-going development of B&R initiative, but also conducive to the progress of civilizations in China, France and worldwide. In this light, the concert was indeed an excellent example of intimate cultural exchanges between China and France. The ethnic Mongolians in China are renowned as a horse-back people with special talents for singing and dancing. No wonder that the art troupe’s programs carried distinct ethnic and regional traits.
The concert started with the passionate group dance Blessings followed by far-stretching long tones, peculiar M o n g o l i a n K h o o m e i s i n g i n g , h e r o i c a n d r o m a n t i c instrumental performance with four-stringed Mongolian Hur, Morin khuur and Chinese Zheng, as well as heavenly male and female solo singings. The performance, with its mellowness of grassland culture, earned passionate applauses among the audience, and the famous family trio The precious Three's singing pushed the atmosphere to a climax.
The“Beautiful Inner Mongolia”photography exhibition was extended into Aulnay Art and Creation Center in France from May 21st to 24th. By these 80 photos, French people saw Inner Mongolia’s achievements in ecological preservation and social development, its grassland culture that upholds nature, integrity and openness, and its development theme for inheritance, exchange and harmony.
The Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region takes pride in its culture and puts much emphasis on international culture and art exchanges. With an aim to enhance people-to- people friendship between China and Europe, the ‘Sound of Grassland’ concert and the“Beautiful Inner Mongolia”photography exhibition in Brussels and Paris offered an excellent chance for the world to know Inner Mongolia and for Inner Mongolia to walk into the world. The events introduced the beautiful scenery, proud history, strong ethnic flavor and profound cultural heritage of Inner Mongolia. The vast grassland has been applauded as“a sea of songs and the homeland of dances”. There lies the birthplace for well-known Mongolian epic songs, long tones, Khoomei singing, Morin khuur performance and Mongolian dancing. Such outstanding and appealing ethnic art treasures were well presented in the concert. Likewise, photos at the exhibition were well chosen for their distinctive regional and cultural features.
Chinese President Xi Jinping made remarks at the B&R Forum for International Cooperation that frequent exchanges are essential to amity between peoples which in turn is the key to sound relations between states. The B&R initiative is an important bridge to promote people-to-people exchange and connectivity, whereas people-to-people exchange and connectivity is a fundamental block for the B&R initiative. The Inner Mongolia art troupe’s concert and exhibition in Brussels and Paris catered to the development of B&R initiative. Such cultural exchanges may facilitate mutual understanding across civilizations, build up spiritual bridges across hearts and minds of different peoples, and enhance their amity. On the technical front, the smooth combination of concert and exhibition produced excellent social effect. After the lively show of Chinese cultural performance, the European audience, by viewing the photos, paid further attention to the real life in China. Insuch particular circumstances, culture and art exchange, and people-to-people communication exerted considerable diplomatic influence between China and Europe. Cultures can be mutually enriched by exchanges, and become more colorful with mutual learning. Culture exchange is a subtle and future-oriented project for peoples’ hearts and minds. With the success of Inner Mongolia art troupe’s concert and exhibition in Brussels and Paris, more opportunities can be expected for the enhancement of China-Europe cultural dialogue and people-to-people friendship. May culture be an ever-flowing river to connect hearts and minds. 
