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Strengthening Cultural Exchanges and Cooperation! Joel Christensen, Culture Consul of the Consulate General of the United States in Wuhan, and His Delegation Visit Zhengzhou Song and Dance Theater

On the morning of June 22, 2022, Mr. Joel Christensen, Press and Culture Consul of the Consulate General of the United States in Wuhan, Mr. Yuan Zhongyu, Press and Culture Assistant, and their delegation, accompanied by the heads of the Foreign Affairs Office of People’s Government of Henan Province and relevant offices of the Culture and Tourism Department of Henan Province, visited Zhengzhou Song and Dance Theater for cultural exchange.

During the cultural exchange, Sun Shujie, the Director of Zhengzhou Song and Dance Theater, first delivered a speech to extend his warm welcome to everyone. Then, the guests watched the basic dance training “Yellow River” and dances “Lotus Pool” and “Palace Banquet in Tang Dynasty” performed by the dancers of Zhengzhou Song and Dance Theater, and listened to the introduction of the theater’s artistic creation development. Chen Lin, the choreographer of the theater and director of the “Palace Banquet in Tang Dynasty”, also gave a detailed introduction to the creation and performance of the show.

After watching the performance, Joel Christensen said excitedly in fluent Chinese, “It is a pleasure to see your performance and it clearly shows your excellent professionalism and hard work. As a dance lover, I am touched and appreciate your efforts. I also hope that the pandemic will end soon, so that you can perform all over the world and more people can enjoy your wonderful dance.”

“Multicultural exchanges ensure a long friendship. We welcome Consul Li to come and visit Henan and Zhengzhou often.” Li Fang, the Secretary of the Leading Party Members Group and Director of Zhengzhou Municipal Bureau of Culture, Radio, Television & Tourism, expressed the strong hope that the splendid traditional culture of Zhengzhou, Henan and China should be spread out, and the excellent culture of the United States will enter Henan to enable local people to learn more and strengthen cooperation and exchange.

After taking a group photo with the dancers, Joel Christensen and his delegation came to the conference room to have a discussion and exchange with the relevant leaders of the Foreign Affairs Office of the People’s Government of Henan Province, the Culture and Tourism Department of Henan Province, the Foreign Affairs Office of Zhengzhou Municipal Government, Zhengzhou Municipal Bureau of Culture, Radio, Television & Tourism, and Zhengzhou Song and Dance Theater.

Director Sun Shujie introduced the foreign cultural exchange activities that Zhengzhou Song and Dance Theater have participated in recent years, as well as the two visits to the United States, hoping to strengthen the cultural exchanges between China and the United States in the future.

Next, the two sides had friendly communication on cultural exchanges and cooperation between Henan and the United States. Li Fang briefly introduced Zhengzhou’s long history and culture, current construction of cultural facilities, and tourism resources. She said, “Understanding China starts in Zhengzhou. We welcome American people to visit Zhengzhou, and we also hope that the first-class American artists and art troupes can come to Zhengzhou for exchange and performance.” Then, Joel Christensen expressed their willingness to further strengthen cultural exchanges and cooperation with Zhengzhou, Henan Province, in various forms such as online and offline.

Copyright by Zhengzhou Municipal Tourism Administration