On the evening of May 9 (local time), nearly 300 guests lined up outside Café de la Danse, a theater in downtown Paris, to enjoy the show that highlighted the friendship between the two countries. When the Chinese and French versions of “Sing Wuzhishan to France” alternated, the performance reached its climax, and everyone could not help but clap along to the song. The event ended with “Auld Lang Syne.” Monica, a French audience member, expressed that she was highly impressed and thrilled about the people-to-people exchange.
The repertoire was co-prepared by the Wuzhishan Li & Miao Children’s Choir, Le Choeur des Polysons, La Chorale Chin’harmonie, and Association Vent d’Orient Vent d’Occident.
“Last May, we sang together to celebrate the 60 years of Sino-French diplomacy. Last October, Le Choeur des Polysons performed in Wuzhishan. Children bonded over music and gained a better understanding of each other’s cultures. Today, we reunited in Paris, and I am deeply touched.” Elisabeth Trigo, the head of the Le Choeur des Polysons, said.
Another phenomenal scene was the collaboration between Huang Hailin and Matthieu Lecoq. Hailin is an inheritor of Hainan’s intangible cultural heritage, the nose flute, which is a bamboo instrument of the Li ethnic group. Matthieu is a musician of the Opéra de Paris who uses the flute to demonstrate his love of the history and mythology of Wuzhishan. He stated, “It is a tremendous pleasure working with her for the first time and finding synergy between Chinese and Western music.”
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and the EU. The Publicity Department of the Wuzhishan Municipal Party Committee is one of the organizers of this visit event, the Wuzhishan Li & Miao Children’s Choir also visited the UNESCO headquarters, the Cinémathèque Française, and a primary school, not only observing the wonderful diversity of world heritage and experiencing France’s one-of-a-kind arts but also spreading excellent.
Hainan is blessed with abundant natural and cultural resources and has unique potential in adding ‘Hainan Tropical Rainforest and the Traditional Settlement of Li Ethnic Group’ to the UNESCO Heritage List. We hope that Hainan can further integrate resources and strengthen systematic protection and innovative development of intangible cultural heritage, said Wang Ying, Deputy Delegate of the Chinese Permanent Delegation to UNESCO.
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