Cross Straits Chorus Festival held in Fuzhou

Cross straits cultural exchanges have been growing in in recent years. The latest example is the first ever Fuzhou Cross Straits Chorus Festival in east China. It was held over the weekend. It brought cultural exchanges between the Chinese Mainland and Taiwan to a new high. Four choral groups from Taiwan joined eighteen mainland groups in a competition.

ThefirsteverFuzhouCrossStraitsChorusFestivalwasheld
inFuzhou.ItbroughtculturalexchangesbetweentheChinese
MainlandandTaiwantoanewhigh.

The competition was the major event of the Cross Straits Chorus Festival. People came to watch and listen to the competitors give their best, outdoors at Fuzhou Stadium, Sunday afternoon.

Twenty two chorus groups attended the contest. There were eight from Fujian province, ten representing other places on the mainland and four from Taiwan. As this was the first ever Cross Straits Chorus event, the four groups from Taiwan took the spotlight. Each expressed a different style of the choral art on the island.

ThefirsteverFuzhouCrossStraitsChorusFestivalwasheld
inFuzhou.ItbroughtculturalexchangesbetweentheChinese
MainlandandTaiwantoanewhigh.

One group from Keelung, sang Hakka songs. The chorus from Hualien sang the tunes of ethnic groups in the mountainous regions of Taiwan. A Taipei group sang a cappella, blending western opera and dramatic acting into their performance.

No matter from which part of Taiwan island they hailed, all the performers were excited at the opportunity to compete with mainland artists and to exchange ideas.

Kong Fanjun, member of Hua-Lien Chorus Band, said, "I feel honored to perform at this event. Although many of our group are not indigenous people of Hua-lien, we are glad to have brought this unique culture to the mainland audience. Hua-lien has the most ethnic culture. We especially chose some of their most colorful songs."

Dai Shuying, member of Hua-Lien Chorus Band, said, "We came here to learn from the mainland artists. We hope exchanges like this will continue."

The Yurun Chorus from Keelung has a sixty year history. The group's members come from different backgrounds. Lv Jinming, the choir master says his group brought four Hakka songs to the festival. He says Taiwan has over a thousand amateur choruses. The four that participated are representative of the island's rich endowment in the art.

Some Taiwan artists say returning to the mainland is an experience in coming home. And for artists from both sides of the straits, it came the opportunity to learn from each other.