Chinese performers are shining at Scotland's Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the world's largest performing arts event featuring over 3,500 artists from nearly 60 countries around the world.
Themed "Rituals That Unite Us", this year's festival, running from Aug 2 to 26, showcases a diverse array of performances including music, theater, comedy and dance by artists ranging from emerging talents to established stars.
The China Culture and Arts Festival, returning after a three-year hiatus, is enriching the festival with a variety of unique shows.
"The Chinese-Scottish link is very important. It's in many ways more important than it's ever been. We have a great Chinese community in Edinburgh but also the festivals are a platform for showing the best in all cultures. So it's an opportunity to both educate and entertain," said Donald Wilson, former Lord Provost of Edinburgh, who introduced this year's Chinese performances.
Performers from the Shanghai Yuguo Students' Art Troupe, which aims to develop youngsters' artistic accomplishments, captivated festival audiences with traditional dances and unique musical instruments like the bamboo flute as part of the opening ceremony of the China-Britain Culture and Art Festival, organized by Asian Association of Culture, Commerce and Education in Europe.
"I have never played my instrument outside China. I felt very excited and magical. I want to introduce Chinese music to everyone," said Zou Chenyang, a bamboo flautist with the Art Troupe.
In a break from tradition, the bamboo flute quartet re-imagined the theme from the West End musical, The Phantom of the Opera.
"It's nice to come back, for the young artists to come back to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. It's important for them, for the international stage and audience. They are not just performers, they also build a bridge for culture and art exchanges," said Jessica Huijie, the organizer of China-Britain Culture and Art Festival.
Highlighting cultural diversity, Chinese dancers were followed by students from Gordon Dance School, showcasing traditional Highland Scottish dances.
"I think it's really good. It's nice how we put the different styles together and show that there's difference between Chinese and Highland dancing," said Lucy Ballantrae, a student at the Gordon Dance School.
Chinese performers bridge China, Scotland through power of art at Edinburgh Fringe
China hopes to see positive outcomes on the global climate finance goal at the upcoming 29th Conference of the Parties on Climate Change (COP29), Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said at a press briefing in Beijing on Friday.
Azerbaijan, the host of COP29, will host the World Leaders Climate Action Summit in Baku, the capital city of the central Asian country. The conference is scheduled to take place at the Baku Olympic Stadium from Nov. 11 to 22, and is expected to be the largest event organized by Azerbaijan to date.
"The main task of COP29 is to set a global climate finance goal after 2025 and make preparations for the submission of a new round of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), which is of great importance to advancing global climate governance. Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang will attend the summit as the special representative of President Xi Jinping," Mao said.
"China stands ready to work with other parties to uphold the goal, principles and system of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Paris Agreement, advance practical actions and achieve sustainable development. China hopes to see positive outcomes on the global climate finance goal at the meeting. Developed countries should earnestly fulfill their responsibilities and provide strong financial support to developing countries for their climate response. China will continue to offer assistance to fellow developing countries to the best of its capacity within the framework of South-South cooperation," she said.
The spokeswoman also highlighted the strong friendship and mutually beneficial partnership between China and Azerbaijan.
"China and Azerbaijan are good friends with sincerity and mutual trust, and good partners based on equality and mutual benefit. In July this year, President Xi Jinping met with President Ilham Aliyev on the sidelines of the Astana summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), and the two sides jointly announced the decision to elevate the bilateral relations to a strategic partnership, which opens a new chapter for the growth of the relations between China and Azerbaijan. During Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang's visit, he will hold talks with Deputy Prime Minister Shahin Abdulla oglu Mustafayev and the two sides will have an in-depth exchange of views on bilateral relations and cooperation across the board. We believe that this visit will further move forward the China-Azerbaijan relationship and bring more benefits to the two peoples," Mao said.
China hopes to see positive results on global climate finance goal at COP29: spokeswoman
