EU-China Youth Music & Art Festival Held in Belgium

EU-China Youth Music & Art Festival Held in Belgium

The EU-China Youth Music & Art Festival 2019 opened on July 28 in Zandhoven， a small town in north Belgium. Nearly 100 young people and folk artists from Belgium and China gathered for a musical concert.

Artists using such musical instruments as the piano， saxophone， flute and guzheng shared the stage to hold the “New Silk Road” concert， which attracted people from Europe and China.

Belgian composer Han Flintrop composed the music piece， The New Silk Road especially for the concert.

The performance of 25 teenagers from the Art Star troupe in Nanning， Guangxi， in southwest China， together with teachers and students of the Municipal Academy of Music， Word and Dance of Lier， brought the concert to a climax.

New Silk Road is divided into eight chapters. Each one uses different music elements along the Silk Road to tell the stories of how Chinese and European civilizations learned from each other.

Chinese Ambassador to Belgium Cao Zhongming said in his opening address that the Belt and Road Initiative has closely connected China with Belgium.

The arts festival provided an opportunity for the European audience to learn more about traditional Chinese culture. Overseas Chinese living in Belgium performed calligraphy and Chinese tea ceremonies.

China and Laos Organized Training Course on Bamboo Weaving

The Chinese Cultural Center in Laos， together with the Lao Handicraft Association， organized a training course on bamboo weaving， including techniques， culture and more.

Aiming to promote the Visit Laos-China Year 2019， three professional bamboo weavers from Chinas Sichuan Province were invited to conduct the course.

The course was launched from July 26 to August 2 in Nabone Village， Phonhong District of Vientiane Province. Participants in the course included 36 trainees from across the country.

After six days of intensive training， a closing ceremony and exhibition of the trainees finished works were held on August 2 in capital Vientiane.

During the training， the bamboo masters gave presentations on topics that included Chinese bamboo weaving art and techniques， shape designs， and craft types. They also shared techniques used to expand the market in Chinas bamboo industry.

Through the platform of this event， Lao and Chinese bamboo artisans had the opportunity to learn from each other. The organizer hoped the results of this event will support the development of the Lao bamboo handicraft sector and the creation of more sophisticated products， thus helping the artisans to increase their income.