Country for PR: China
Contributor: Xinhua News Agency
Thursday, September 28 2023 - 19:48
AsiaNet
Shenzhen Dance Drama "Wing Chun" Makes Its Overseas Debut in Singapore, Telling Chinese Stories to the World with Shenzhen Spirit
SHENZHEN, China, Sept. 28, 2023 /Xinhua-AsiaNet/--

On the evening of September 27th, the Chinese Embassy in Singapore held the 
National Day Reception at the Esplanade - Theatres on the Bay in Singapore to 
celebrate the 74th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of 
China. Diplomats and envoys from over 40 countries, including the United 
States, Canada, Venezuela, and the Netherlands, attended the reception and 
watched the overseas premiere of the Shenzhen-produced dance drama "Wing Chun".

This is the first stop of Wing Chun's overseas tour. When walking into the 
theater that night, the plaque of "Wing Chun Store" with a strong Cantonese 
style soon came into view. Xiang Yun Sha silk, the fabric to make the exquisite 
performance costumes, and the potato juice used for making Xiang Yun Sha silk 
have attracted many audiences to take photos.

Three months ago, on the eve of the Dragon Boat Festival, 29 envoys to China 
and some representatives of international organizations watched the performance 
of Wing Chun in Beijing. After that, they invited the crew of Wing Chun to go 
overseas to enable people from more countries to have a better understanding of 
Shenzhen and experience the charm of traditional Chinese culture, according to 
Shenzhen Municipal People's Government.

Today, three months after the Beijing performance, Wing Chun officially headed 
abroad, choosing Singapore as its first stop.

Wing Chun, due to its prominent Chinese martial arts style, has become one of 
the Chinese symbols recognized by many foreign friends. After enjoying the 
performance on September 27th, Ms. Chan Heng Chee, Ambassador-at-Large with 
Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, highly praised Wing Chun: "It was 
wonderful! It's balletic, it's acrobatic, and it's Kung Fu as well. It's a 
great fusion of styles."

As a phenomenal performance that has drawn a large audience and received highly 
favorable reviews in China, Wing Chun's heading abroad this time also took 
Singapore by storm. "We know how popular this dance drama is in China. It 
perfectly combines China's dual intangible cultural heritages of Wing Chun and 
Xiang Yun Sha silk, while also blending martial arts and dance seamlessly," 
said Ms. Qin Wen, Cultural Counselor of the Chinese Embassy in Singapore.

The dance drama Wing Chun, based on traditional Chinese culture, embodies the 
wisdom of the Chinese nation through the use of "bridging" in boxing 
techniques. Audiences from Singapore can not only appreciate the diversity of 
Chinese dance art in the new era, but also feel the charm of Chinese martial 
arts, which shows China's national spirit of promoting communication and 
exchange.

After the two-hour performance, many audiences spontaneously stood up, 
applauded, and took photos. Several foreign envoys expressed that Wing Chun 
contains typical Chinese elements and is an excellent medium for understanding 
Chinese culture. They also showed their expectations for Wing Chun to perform 
in more countries.

Now, Wing Chun is setting sail and going abroad. This Shenzhen artistic 
masterpiece, rich in spiritual connotation, aesthetic charm, and humanistic 
value, is telling Chinese stories in the new era to the world.

Source: Shenzhen Municipal People's Government