China has reiterated its commitment to working closely with Nigeria to build shared future between both countries.
Mr Li Xuda, Cultural Counsellor of the Chinese Embassy in Nigeria made this known in his address at the Mid-Autumn Festival Celebration on Friday in Abuja.
The event tagged: “2023 Moon festival celebrations; a moment to remember” was organised by the Chinese Cultural Centre in Nigeria.
According to Li, who is also Director of the centre, the festival is one of the most important holidays in Chinese culture since 3,000 years ago.
Li said, “Today’s celebration is very important and meaningful because the Mid-autumn also called ‘the Mooncake Day’ is one of the most important Chinese traditional festival.
“In this festival we celebrate family reunion, friendship and togetherness; like the popular proverb in Nigeria, even in Africa.
“It says, you can go faster if you go alone, you can go far, if you go together, I think China and Nigeria will really go together.
“To stand hand-by-hand, shoulder-to-shoulder, we will create better future which belongs to our people and benefit our two countries.”
The director explained that the festival is often celebrated annually on the 15th day of the eighth month of the Chinese lunar calendar with a full moon at night.
Speaking, Mr Muhammad Sulaiman, National President, Society of Nigerian Artists, commended the festival celebration to help promote Nigeria-China relations.
The artists boss described the cultural fusion between Nigeria and China as educational, saying it had been of benefit to many Nigerians.
According to him, the reunion centered on what the two nations have been doing together.
Sulaiman said, “What China has done many years in the past is that China has been able to establish and they want to assist with what Nigeria must always take advantage of.
“There are many hundreds of ways that China has been assisting Nigeria, besides security and other areas.
“What is fair than to have a community of a whole nation that supports in educating you, over 15,000 Nigerians have benefitted from this.”
Also speaking, Tang Wen Ting, Deputy Head of the Chinese Troop to Nigeria, expressed her hope that China and Nigeria could work closely together through cultural fusion to achieve meaningful progress.
“I hope together we can advance our culture through music by artists and deepen our friendship forever; I like the blue sky, we enjoyed it, as well as Nigerians,” Tang said.
Meanwhile, a participant, Virtue Abah, an SS2 Student of Government Day Secondary School Dutse, Bwari Area Council, in the FCT, expressed appreciation to China for promotion of cultural fusion between both countries.
“I love everything about Chinese, I love their dance, the way they move their body, they are flexible and I expect more people should learn about them.
“The Federal Government should work closely with Chinese people, it should continue to carry out this event and learn from them too,” she said.
Highpoint of the event was music rendition by blooming flowers, full moon and omo-puma by Sichuan Symphony Orchestra Nigerian Obliz Ensemble, acrobatics ‘face changing’ by Sichuan opera acrobat.
Also was music titled: “together as one” by Drum majors for peace, bamboo flute ‘new melody for herdsmen’ and group dance by Ma Dobgfeng among others.