Ningbo Art Troupe Impresses Korean Sister City with Classic Chinese Performances
On the afternoon of May 15th, the Suncheon Bay National Garden in the Republic of Korea echoed with enchanting melodies of The Butterfly Lovers: Painful Farewell, a classic piece of Yue Opera (aka. Shaoxing Opera). It was one “cuisine” of the Chinese Culture Feast offered by Ningbo Art Troupe, sent by the Ningbo Municipal Bureau of Culture, Radio, Television and Tourism to the 2023 Suncheon Bay National Garden Expo (SBNGE) to showcase the culture of Ningbo and the beauty of China.
The troupe started with an appetizer of the romantic story of The Butterfly Lovers, and perfectly epitomized the elegance and delicacy of Ningbo people with their appealing makeup, vivid role-playing, graceful posture, and lilting vocal music.
Yue Opera Performance.
Puppet actors in Puppet Wrestling, an intangible cultural heritage of Ningbo, pleased the audience with its clumsy yet adorable dance, rhythmical and smooth, engaging the attention of the audience and winning wide applause.
The scene was further leavened with a folk song Tune of Happy Horse Lantern: New Year Thanks. This created a festive ambience with a jubilant tempo, striking a chord with the audience who followed the beat cheerfully.
Singing performance.
The following calligraphy performance, accompanied by Chinese folk music Flowers Bloom under Full Moon played on the Erhu, showed a harmonious combination of peaceful ink art and vivid playing technique.
Calligraphy & Erhu Performance
Within the enthusiastically received Chinese specialty face-changing performance, one of the audiences was even invited to complete a creative comical performance of “Pigsy Carrying His Wife” (Note: In many English versions of the story Journey to the West, “Pigsy” or “Pig” is the adopted translation for Zhu Bajie.).
Interaction with audience.
The feast didn’t stop there: Beijing opera Ode to Pear Blossoms, Yong (Ningbo) opera The Snail Girl, and Yue opera Heavenly Maiden Scattering Flowers, all offered Korean citizens a window into the grandeur of Chinese culture with distinctive regional characteristics, leaving a deep impression on them. Some residents even shouted praise in Chinese, (translated as) “Impressive!” and “So beautiful.”
During the interactive session, the art troupe presented exquisite gifts to the citizens, such as Chinese knots, Chinese “Fu” characters (representing good luck), and Chinese fans (Shanzi). They also promoted Ningbo’s tourism, introducing this coastal city – starting point of Maritime Silk Road (MSR) – to Koreans and inviting them to experience the MSR and Buddhist cultures, enjoy the charm of the bay, and savor delicious seafood.
Chinese Consulate General in Gwangju Zhang Chenggang also attended the performance. He praised it as a perfect embodiment of Chinese beauty and culture as well as a successful cultural exchange event, well-prepared, compact, entertaining, and highly interactive.
Before the visit to this sister city of the “East Asian Culture Capital” in South Korea, the Ningbo Art Troupe had already participated in the 2023 Celebration: Vibrant Daegu on May 13th and 14th, offering three performances that received overwhelming acclaim.
Recent Performance in Daegu, South Korea.
The 2023 SBNGE, with the theme “Living in the Garden”, will last for seven months and send 17-round invitations to cities worldwide. Ningbo is the first city of China invited.
Intern Journalist: Pan Wenjie
Correspondents: Yang Yifeng, Liu Dan
Translator: Yao Zhanhong (intern)
Proofreaders: Huang Dawang, Jason Mowbray
