Translated with AI
The Silk Road echoes, and the dragon drum welcomes spring. On March 3 (the fifteenth day of the first lunar month), the opening ceremony of the cultural exchange between youth and media from China and Central Asia, titled "Holding Hands and Seeing Each Other's Eyes," was held at the Zhonghua Jun Cultural Tourism Zone in Weinan. Twenty international students from three Central Asian countries joined forces with a 60-member intangible cultural heritage troupe from Weinan to perform the intangible cultural heritage of Shaanxi Province, "Old Temple and Old Drum," along with a traditional dragon dance, harmonizing the rhythms of the Lantern Festival with the melody of the Silk Road cultural exchange.
On the day of the Lantern Festival, the performance began with a thunderous drumbeat. The ten-minute performance, "A United Silk Road: Drums and Dragons in Harmony," vividly showcased the charm of Shaanxi Province's intangible heritage and the energy of the Silk Road's youth, attracting numerous tourists who stopped to watch. International students noted that during the event, they experienced the joy and sense of unity inherent in the Chinese Lantern Festival and expressed a desire to bring traditional drums, dragon dances, and the blessings of the Lantern Festival back home.
ABYTOV YRYSKELDI, a student from Tajikistan studying at Xi'an University of Petroleum, noted that both China and Central Asia have a tradition of celebrating festivals with drums and music. "These similarities allowed me to gain a deeper understanding of the cultural connections along the Silk Road," he remarked. "Through these experiences, one can truly feel that cultural kinship transcends linguistic and national boundaries."
Latifa Almazbekovna Adylbaeva, a student from Kyrgyzstan studying at the Xi'an University of Architecture and Technology, believes that the active participation of young people is essential to preserving cultural heritage. "If I hadn't struck the drum and carried the dragon's body, my understanding of Chinese culture might have remained only in textbooks," she noted. "Now I hope to bring this experience with me so that more people can learn about history from the other side of the Silk Road."
A cultural exchange event between Chinese and Central Asian youth and media outlets, titled "Holding Hands and Seeing Each Other's Eyes," initiated by the International Communications Center, aims to establish a regular exchange platform between Chinese and Central Asian youth in Shaanxi Province. It allows Central Asian youth to experience the charm of traditional Chinese culture through immersion and to explore cultural stories from across the Silk Road. This special event, celebrating the Lantern Festival, was the second in a series themed "Intangible Cultural Heritage and Youth Dance." Prior to the event, a master class on intangible cultural heritage was held at Xi'an Petroleum University, where international students received a systematic explanation of traditional drumming and dragon dance techniques. Folklore experts also led participants in a cultural exchange along the Silk Road, exploring the interconnections between Chinese and foreign cultures. This year, the Shaanxi International Communication Center will continue to organize more cultural exchange activities for Central Asian youth to promote mutual learning and symbiosis between Chinese and foreign cultures among the younger generation.
