A Japanese folk art troupe dispatched by the Min-On Concert Association visited China on a cultural exchange tour from November 16 to 21 at the invitation of the CPAFFC. Headed by Mr. Iijima Shigeo, Vice President of the Min-On, the troupe staged a show respectively in Tsinghua University, China Foreign Affairs University and Tianjin Foreign Studies University. Mr. Hu Sishe, Vice President of the CPAFFC, attended the opening ceremony and watched its first show in Tsinghua University.

In his speech, Hu extended welcome to the troupe and spoke highly of the significance of the Japanese artists’ visits to Chinese universities where they would interact and forge friendship with Chinese students and the faculty.

Mr.Yang Bin, Vice President of Tsinghua University, Mr. Qin Yaqing, President of China Foreign Affairs University, and Mr. Xiu Gang, President of Tianjin Foreign Studies University attended relevant activities. The show had a total audience of 1500.

The show, featuring Japanese folk songs, dances and traditional musical instruments, presented the beauty of the four seasons in Japan and was warmly received by the audience. The Chinese songs Friends and Little Apple performed during the show brought warm response from the audience.

The troupe was the second of its kind sent to China by the Min-On to further cultural exchanges between China and Japan and deepen mutual understanding between their young people. During the performance Chinese students and professors actively participated in the interactions with the Japanese artists. Many said that the show enabled them to learn about Japanese traditional culture at their doorsteps. The three universities showed keen interest in future cooperation with the CPAFFC in bilateral cultural exchanges.