Xi arrives at presidential palace in Dushanbe to attend welcome ceremony

Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived at the presidential palace in Dushanbe, capital of Tajikistan, on Friday afternoon to attend the welcome ceremony held by Tajik President Emomali Rahmon.

Xi was warmly greeted by Rahmon upon arriving at the palace.

Xi is on a state visit to Tajikistan after attending a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Astana and paying a state visit to Kazakhstan.

A group of amateur dragon dance performers from an eastern Chinese county have impressed Spanish audience in late June with a fascinating show inspired by a mythical love story.

Looping and swishing, colorful male and female "dragons" were moved through the stage with poles held by 19 Chinese dancers. Traditional dragon couple dance team from the Changxing County in China's Zhejiang Province crossed tens of thousands of miles to participate in the 37th Jaén International Folk Music and Dance Festival in Spain. This was the only Asian team present at this festival.

"We have been looking forward to bringing a group from Asia for many years. We were offered this team. We didn't hesitate after seeing its quality and the colorful diversity. The performance really exceeded my expectations," said Desiree Amaro, chairman of the festival's organizing committee.

The dance troupe has a total of 28 members. None of them is a professional. They are farmers, teachers, office workers and township officials.

"This performance was a great success. It resonates with the audience, showing their interest in the Chinese dragon. Our Chinese spirit and Chinese story will continue to go global," said Wu Lusheng, director of the Traditional Dance Professional Committee of the Zhejiang Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection Association.

Performing abroad has given the amateur dragon dance team more confidence. There's even better news: In 2023, dragon couple dancing from the village has been listed in the sixth batch of Provincial Intangible Cultural Heritage in Zhejiang Province. That means it gets financial support from both the county and the town. Now that more people are joining the team, the ancient custom shall continue to be passed on to the next generation.

The dragon couple dance was born in a small village called Qingcaowu in Changxing County and it has been passed on for more than 100 years. It originated from a romantic Chinese folk tale about a dragon couple who settled in the village and brought a peaceful and prosperous life to the locals. Therefore, villagers will stage the dragon couple dance during traditional festivals to pay tribute to them.