The 2017 Martial Arts Tour of Confucius institutes in Central and Eastern European Countries was held in Sofia, capital of Bulgaria, on October 27th, attracting thousands of local citizens, oversea Chinese and students.
Sponsored by the Confucius Institute Headquarters (Hanban) and organized by China’s Capital University of Physical Education and Sports, the tour has carried out a number of performances in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Romania successively with Sofia marking the finale.
Teachers and students of the art troupe from Capital University of Physical Education and Sports displayed the fine tradition of Chinese martial arts, which enjoys a long-standing and well-established history, bears extensive and profound contents, attaches importance to both physical and mental practice and pays equal attention to skill and Tao, by the form of arts through eight programs including “origin of martial arts”, “skills of martial arts”, “fighting of martial arts”, “music of martial arts”, “swordsmen of martial arts”, “dance of martial arts”, “rhyme of martial arts” and “soul of martial arts”, manifesting the national integrity and spirit of the Chinese nation and winning rounds of applause from the audience.
Actors performing on the martial arts tour on October 27 in Bulgaria’s capital Sofia.
During the performance, teachers and students of the art troupe particularly arranged an interactive session. They invited martial arts teachers from the Capital University of Physical Education and Sports to teach Chinese martial arts to Chinese Kung Fu fans in Bulgaria. Over ten teenagers went to the stage and learned gestures of Chinese boxing from the Chinese teachers. There was a warm atmosphere both on and off the stage.
Actors performing on the martial arts tour on October 27 in Bulgaria’s capital Sofia.
Maxine, a 15-year-old student studying at a private Chinese language school in Sofia, told Xinhua that the performance, which combined martial arts and dance together looked very graceful and attracting.
After the performance, Wu Xiaoying, Counselor of the Chinese Embassy in Bulgaria, and other guests from China and Bulgaria stepped up onto the stage to congratulate on the success of the performance and took a group photo with teachers and students of the art troupe. (cited from Confucius Institute Headquarters, source: Xinhua News Agency, Story and photos by Zhan Xiaoyi)
