Happy Chinese New Year Series of Events Resound in Sri Lanka

From February 9th to 14th, 2025, the "Happy Spring Festival New Year Concert" series of events was held in Sri Lanka. Using traditional Chinese folk music as a bridge, this event connected the friendship between the people of China and Sri Lanka. Three wonderful performances were held in two locations, attracting over a thousand audience members. The atmosphere at the scene was extremely enthusiastic.

This cultural extravaganza was supervised by Ministry of Culture and Tourism of China and Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in Sri Lanka, hosted by Network of International Culturalink Entities, China Cultural Center in Sri Lanka, and the Wuxi Chinese Orchestra, and strongly coordinated by Association for Sri Lanka - China Social and Cultural Cooperation, University of Peradeniya, China - Sri Lanka Joint Research and Demonstration Center for Water Technology, Lumbini Confucius Classroom, Nelum Pokuna Theatre, Sri Lank overseas Chinese Association, Wave n’Lake Navy Hall, and China Eastern Airlines, with the generous support of the Bank of China.

  On February 10th and 11th, the Wuxi National Orchestra entered the University of Peradeniya and the Royal Institution Theatre, engaging in a unique cultural exchange with local students. The orchestra performed a series of musical pieces with distinct traditional Chinese cultural features, such as "The Golden Snake Dances Wildly", "The Purple Bamboo Melody", and "Dance of the Yi People". The vivid notes and beautiful melodies instantly ignited the atmosphere at the scene, winning warm applause from teachers and students.

After the performance, Sri Lankan students lined up to experience traditional Chinese musical instruments. Rashike, a student majoring in media at the University of Peradeniya, said excitedly, "Sri Lankan music has a strong rhythm. This gentle and beautiful music style is the first time I've heard. It makes me feel extremely relaxed and peaceful. It's really an unforgettable experience."

On February 12th, the "Happy Spring Festival" Lantern Festival Concert grandly opened at the Nelum Pokuna Theatre in Colombo. Zhu Yanwei, the Chargé d'Affaires ad interim of the Embassy of China in Sri Lanka, mentioned in his speech, "The cultures of China and Sri Lanka have a long - standing history. This concert is a vivid manifestation of cultural exchanges between the two countries. We hope that through this musical feast, we can enhance mutual understanding and friendship between the people of the two countries and let the culture of traditional Chinese festivals shine with a unique luster in Sri Lanka." Ni Lisheng, the director of the China Cultural Center in Sri Lanka, also stated in his speech, "Cultural exchange is a bridge connecting the hearts of people. We look forward to enabling more Sri Lankan people to feel the charm of Chinese culture through such activities and promoting the in - depth integration of the cultures of the two countries." Subsequently, the Wuxi National Orchestra presented classic folk music works such as "The Golden Snake Dances Wildly", "The Beauty of Taihu Lake", and "Happy Moon and Flower in Full Bloom", vividly demonstrating the festive atmosphere and cultural connotations of traditional Chinese festivals. The audience at the scene was immersed in it and gave rave reviews.

Jinith de Silva, the president of the Sri Lanka - China Association, said, "The friendship between China and Sri Lanka has a long history. In recent years, cultural exchanges between the two countries have become increasingly frequent. This form of performance allows local people to understand Chinese music more intuitively and feel the profoundness and extensiveness of Chinese culture. It's really gratifying."

The Wuxi National Orchestra was established in 2020 and is located in Wuxi, the birthplace of "Wu Culture" with a history of more than 3,000 years. Wuxi is renowned as the "Hometown of Erhu in China" and the "Hometown of Chinese Folk Music". It has a profound musical and cultural heritage and a large number of talented people. Since its establishment, the orchestra has always adhered to the concept of inheriting local musical culture, creating contemporary masterpieces, and exploring a unique artistic style. It has held many wonderful performances, such as the first concert "The Splendor of Liangxi" and the original large - scale national symphonic epic "Marching towards the Light", with a cumulative number of performances exceeding a hundred. At the same time, the orchestra has commissioned and created many original works, such as "The Second Erhu Concerto - The Amorous Feelings of Taihu Lake", and has gone abroad many times to participate in the "Connecting Hearts with Chinese Music • Co - creating the Future" International Youth Exchange Program on Chinese Music, spreading the unique charm of Chinese folk music to the world.

The "Connecting Hearts with Chinese Music • Co - creating the Future" project takes overseas teenagers as its core target and music as the communication medium, which is of far - reaching significance. Through carrying out teaching and training of Chinese ethnic musical instruments, systematically introducing the history of musical instruments, organizing local teenagers to create and perform Chinese music works, and adopting a combination of live performances, guided appreciation, and interactive lectures to enter campuses, the project enables more teenagers who love Chinese music to experience the charm of Chinese music up close. Teenagers participating in the project will also participate in reporting performances, and excellent performances will be made into videos for global online broadcast, further expanding the international influence of Chinese music.