Chinese performances fascinate audience in Preston of Britain

PRESTON, Britain - With dances dating from ancient Qiang minority, acrobatics, melodious Tibetan songs and amazing face-changing, artists from China's Sichuan province presented a brilliant show to audience of Preston, Britain on Tuesday evening.

Zhong Laizhao, head of the Sichuan troupe, said "our aim is to show the life and harmony of people from different ethnic minorities in Sichuan," home to 55 ethnic groups, including Qiang, Yi and Tibetan.

In the show in the Charter Theater, spectators could see young men in yellow vest beating drums while girls in red dresses ringing bells, a dance dating from China's ancient Qiang. The Qiang people have a unique culture that can be traced to the Shang Dynasty (1600 BC -1056 BC).

A musician from Yi ethnic group played five traditional musical instruments, leading audience into the depth of mountains in southwestern China's Sichuan.

Two Tibetan singers impressed audience with a song adapted from a famous poem by the sixth Dalai Lama while several young men did the tap dance with Tibetan style.

Viewers were also fascinated by the surprising Chinese acrobatics and ?face-changing, the changing of masks in quick succession to show off different emotions and feelings.

Describing the performance as "excellent," Preston guild mayor Carl Crompton told Xinhua he was especially impressed by face-changing. "They did it quickly. How could they do that?" he asked curiously.

The favorite program for Malcolm McVicar, dean of the University of Central Lancashire, was acrobatics. "They (strongmen) made me feel like a potato," he joked.

He said he believed that the show provided them with a glimpse of the Chinese life and traditional culture. "There is long tradition of friendship between China and Britain, and the university has long tradition working with China," he said. "It helps to cement relationship of our two countries."

Meanwhile, Peter Rankin, leader of the city council, said that they have a vibrant Chinese community and a lot of Chinese students in Preston. "We feel they are part of our family," he added.

"China has such an important part to play in the world. The more we get to know about China and Chinese people, the better," he said.

The troupe from Chengdu, capital of Sichuan province, arrived in Britain on February 9, the eve of the Chinese Lunar New Year or the Spring Festival. The performances will meet people in London, Sheffield and Liverpool before the troupe leaves for Isreal.