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In association with Chinese Nanjing Tech University Art Troupe, Durban local Black fox/Heihu Chinese Martial Art team, KwaMashu Community Arts Project: CRE/DACNCE Troupe, the DUT and its Confucius Institute hosted the Traditional Chinese Moon Festival & China-South Africa Cultural Gala at the Arthur Smith Hall, City Campus, DUT on October 2, welcoming an audience of more than 300 guest audiences from the eThekwini Municipality, DUT community, Durban communities and Chinese communities, who together enjoyed an art feast of traditional Chinese cultural programmes and local Zulu dances, celebrating the Chinese well-known Moon festival.
The Gala was hosted by DUT Senior Director of Public Affairs/Corporate Affairs Mr Alan Khan, who just returned from a visit to china attending a Commemorating Ceremony of the Confucius in Quzhou, Zhejiang Province. Mr Khan shared his impression of the China visit and his new understandings of the social development and cultural inherits in China. Mr Thembinkosi Ngcobo, head of Department of Parks , Recreation and Culture from the eThekwini Municipality, expressed his appreciation to DUT and its CI for bringing Chinese traditional art performance to South Africa to enrich Durban’s diversified racial and cultural heritage, for promoting the closer economic and cultural exchanges between China and South Africa. Professor Graham Stewart and Dr Eddie Chaobo Fu, co-directors of DUT CI expressed their acknowledgment to the Chinese and South African artists, saying that the cultural feast will surely be an important part of the serial celebrations for “2015 The Year of China in South Africa” .
At the gala young artist from Chinese Nanjing Tech University Art Troupe brought a couple of spectacular programmes of traditional Chinese culture like Dragon Dance, Lion Dance Chinese Folk dances, Chinese Martial Arts demonstration, traditional Chinese musical Instrument performance, Chinese calligraphy, to name just a few. South African culture were also well-showcased in the Gala by sharing the stage. Taiji sword, Changquan, Chinese Shaolin Quan demonstrated by the Durban local Heihu Martial Art team attracted all the audience, and the traditional Zulu dance and contemporary Zulu dance brought by the well-known Kwamashu Art Troup fascinated the audience with the breathtaking natural beauty of Zulu art and culture.