Embrace the World——First China International Spring Festival Gala

Red drums， red lanterns， red well-wishing couplets， red ribbons; red was indeed the dominant color of the night at the CPAFFC 2010 Spring Festival Gala—First China International Spring Festival Gala held in the National Convention Center in Beijing on the evening of February 6.

The Chinese New Year， also known as Spring Festival， begins on the first day of the first lunar month. It is the most important of traditional Chinese holidays. It is also a time of family reunion. All people living away from home go back for a reunion meal on New Year’s Eve and set off fireworks and firecrackers at midnight to ring in the New Year.

The Spring Festival fell on February 14 this year. To let foreign friends living in China enjoy the Chinese New Year together with the Chinese people and share the festive atmosphere， the CPAFFC， in cooperation with the Beijing Yamei Time International Public Relation and Consultation Co.， Ltd.， invited Chinese and foreign artists to present the Spring Festival Gala.

Dai Bingguo， State Councilor; Uyunqimg， Vice Chairperson of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress; Bai Lichen and Abdul’ahat Abdulrixit， Vice Chairmen of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference; Buhe， Tomur Dawamat， Ismail Amat， He Luli， Cheng Siwei and Gu Xiulian， former Vice Chairpersons of the NPC Standing Committee; and Wang Wenyuan， former Vice Chairman of the CPPCC National Committee， were among those watching the performance. Envoys to China from 127 countries were invited to the activity to celebrate the festival together with over 1，000 people from all walks of life in the capital， enjoy the friendship and receive best wishes from the Chinese people.

As contacts between China and other countries of the world grow increasingly closer， exchanges in the political， economic， cultural， sports and educational fields have been deepened continuously. Countries learn from each other in mutual emulation in the field of culture in particular. The program of the gala fully reflected this， as it included traditional Chinese items like Peking Opera， acrobatics， songs and dances of different ethnic groups， and foreign songs sung respectively by foreign and Chinese artists and music played with both Chinese and Western instruments. The excellent performance intoxicated the audience who repeatedly gasped in admiration.

Peking Opera is the quintessence of Chinese culture， and children are the country’s future. The Charm of Peking Opera performed by pupils of the Beijing Haidian Xiyi Primary School won high praise for excellent singing， skilled acting and fine make-up. The youngsters showed the charm of Peking Opera with their marvelous performance from which we saw the future of Peking Opera and the tradition continuing.

Carnival， sung by a Cuban singer and accompanied by her rhythmic dance， took the audience to Latin America， while Pour Que Tu M’Aimes Encore (So that you’ll love me again) by a French singer introduced a touch of romantic France. The singing not only enabled the audience to appreciate art from other countries， but also conveyed their aspiration for peace and friendship. Mo Li and Jin Xiaoyu， the Chinese names of the two singers will long be remembered.

Swallows are envoys of spring. On the stage singer Wu Tong and the music group Chinese Magpie presented the song Swallow. Wu’s singing， sometimes loud and sonorous and sometimes low and soft with violin， guitar， pipa and sheng in accompaniment， created a strong image of Spring. The music was so well arranged that Western instruments violin and guitar and the Chinese pipa and sheng produced harmonious melodies.

The Chinese concerto Butterfly Lovers is well known in the world. The story of the lovers Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai turning into butterflies has touched people’s hearts just like Romeo and Juliet in the West. The famous violinist Lu Siqing told this beautiful and sad story with his violin. A ballerina playing the part of a butterfly displayed the unswerving love of Zhu Yingtai. The purple sleeves fluttered with her graceful movement. It was a feast for both the ear and the eye.

World Classical Music performed by Robert Wells from Sweden brought the evening gala to a climax. With his deft fingers and magnetic voice， he showed the audience the charm of the music. The Yellow River Cantata and The Jasmine Flower played in between Western classics evoked warm applause. The audience clapped to the rhythm of the music as he played the piano.

Beyond the Limit， an artistic contortionist item presented by Bai Chunpu and Liu Jiayin of the Beijing Acrobatic Troupe stunned the audience with their unimaginable acting. Their high acrobatic skills were demonstrated in every stunt.

With its beautiful melody and profound implication， the theme song Embrace the World sung by well-known Chinese singer Wei Wei expressed the aim of the gala and conveyed to the people of the world Chinese people’s aspirations for enhancing understanding and friendship and building a harmonious world， bringing the evening show to another climax.

In sponsoring this event， the CPAFFC hoped to further state-to- state and enterprise-to-state exchanges and cooperation and demonstrate the new look of the Chinese people. The gala was tailor-made for international friends with the aims of enhancing people’s friendship， furthering international cooperation， safeguarding world peace and promoting common development.