Moroccans, Chinese community in Rabat celebrate Mid-Autumn Festival

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The Chinese Cultural Center in Morocco's capital Rabat held a special gala event on Wednesday to celebrate the upcoming Mid-Autumn Festival with the locals.

The Mid-Autumn Festival falls on the 15th day of the eighth month on the Chinese lunar calendar, which is next Tuesday this year. For Chinese people, it is of special ethical significance, and family reunion on this occasion lying deep in their consciousness has been a sentiment and mindset for hundreds of years.

The colorful and joyous show at Bahnini Hall featured a series of distinctive artistic performances, reflecting Chinese cultural heritage and enhancing the cultural exchanges between China and the North African country.

"The cultural aspect plays a very important role in the intensification and diversification of the relations between our two countries and two peoples," said Li Changlin, Chinese ambassador to Morocco.

The musical celebration combined the cultures of the two countries. Moroccan youths joined dozens of Chinese artists and performed traditional Chinese and Moroccan songs.

"We are very excited to be here. A very different country and a very different culture here. So we are very surprised and excited," said Li Cangxiao, a Chinese artist.

"This time we visited Morocco to perform and we have discovered that the Moroccan audience is very enthusiastic and active. We really appreciate it. Morocco is a very beautiful country and Rabat is also a quite pretty city. We had a great time putting on the show. We thank local audience's warm applause. We are grateful that the China Cultural Center invited us here to present such a wonderful concert," said Yi Lin, another Chinese Artist.

The gala evening drew more than 400 spectators from many regions of Morocco.

"China's Cultural Center in Rabat today has organized an amazing artistic and musical show to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival which is one of the most important festivals in China. This is a great opportunity for the Moroccan public to better know Chinese culture and traditions during this happy time of the year," said Ihsanne Benghanem, a Moroccan spectator.

Moroccans, Chinese Community in Rabat celebrate Mid-Autumn Festival

Multiple handheld pager explosions struck Beirut and the southeastern and northeastern regions of Lebanon on Tuesday, leading to a temporary internet shutdown in the southern suburbs of the capital city, according to China Media Group (CMG) reporter Ci Xiaoning.

"I am currently at the entrance of a major hospital in Beirut, Lebanon's capital. Around 15:30 today, there were several explosions in the southern suburbs of Beirut. My Lebanese colleague, who lives very close to the area, experienced an immediate loss of internet connectivity. Reports have since confirmed that many handheld pagers were involved in the explosions," Ci reported outside a hospital in Beruit.

Lebanese Health Minister Firas Abiad confirmed that the explosions resulted in at least nine deaths and about 2,800 injuries, with approximately 200 people in critical condition. The injured are being transferred to hospitals.

In a statement, Hezbollah said it is conducting security and scientific investigations to identify the reasons behind these explosions, adding that the group is "at the highest level of readiness to defend Lebanon and its people."

In a separate statement, the Shiite group blamed Israel for "this criminal attack," vowing to retaliate.

The Lebanese Council of Ministers stressed that the government, shortly after the deadly explosions, began contacting the concerned countries and the United Nations to hold the perpetrators accountable.

Israel has yet to comment on Tuesday's blasts. According to media reports, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant held a security assessment meeting at the HaKirya military base in Tel Aviv on Tuesday to address the implications of the explosions.

CMG reporter says internet shutdown following deadly pager blasts in Lebanon