Chinese Youth Dance Delegation in Malaysia

At the invitation of the China-Malaysia Friendship Association， a 96-member Chinese youth dance delegation organized by the CPAFFC and the Chinese Dancers Association， went to Pinang， a famous tourist and cultural city in Malaysia， to attend the activities of the China-ASEAN Youth Art Interaction and Competition 2009.

Pinang， Malaysia’s only freeport and second largest city， is located on the northwest coast of Malay Peninsula. It boasts very good natural environment with bright sunshine， blue sea， white and long beaches and coconut trees everywhere.

Pinang’s sea transportation is highly developed.Being the place where ships going to Indonesia and Thailand must pass， Pinang was developed by the British colonial government in the 18th century into the earliest commercial centre in the Far East.

Most of the streets in the city are one way only. On both sides of the streets are modern hotels surrounded by flowers and trees， and along the sea coast there are high-rise apartment buildings of various architectural styles. The ancient buildings， though over one hundred years old， are mostly well preserved. The buildings of the City Hall， the court and insurance companies still show the former majesty of Western colonialists. The rust-stained cannons on the ancient fortification still stand facing onto the sea proudly. In the city， besides big beautiful shops such as Parkson， Jusco and Sogo， small shops that sell local products and special snacks such as pala and Bah Kut Teh seem to appeal to more customers. In the morning colourful jinrickshas decorated with fresh flowers are waiting in a single line to attract tourists.

In Pinang there is a large number of Chinese-Malaysians who like Chinese dances very much. They treated little performers from Guizhou and Shenzhen warmly and were enthusiastic about learning Chinese folk dances. Thelittle performers not only yearned to perform on the stage， but also were willing to learn dances from each other. During the break of performances and competitions， the organizing committee specially organized dance-teaching activities. All the participants in the competitions learned from each other Chinese Miao ethnic dances， and Malay and Indian dances. Young audience of Pinang also joined in， imitating every dance movement earnestly. The teachers were touched by their earnestness.

As Pinang is a city where live large numbers of Chinese-Malaysians， the Pinang municipal government always supports the development of folk art groups and works hard to introduce diversified international art activities. Just as Tan Yew Sing， chairman of the China-ASEAN Youth Art Interaction Competition 2009， said， the people of Pinang welcome artists and tourists from all quarters and hope to find art from life and seek life in art， and let art find its way into every family and enrich the cultural colour of urban life. They hope to build Pinang into a new multicultural city as it is marching towards a modern international city integrated with local communities.