Shanghai youths bring Expo charm to Chile
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On Monday night, the Chilean capital experienced the magic of Shanghai Expo 2010, thanks to a charming show by a group of college boys and girls from the oriental metropolis.
Young art amateurs from Shanghai were cheered for a brilliant interpretation of Chinese culture on Saturday and Monday, in the Chilean resort city of Vina del Mar and Santiago, respectively.
It is part of the Second Congress of Confucius Institutes in Ibero-America, organized by the Office of National Directive Group for External Promotion of the Chinese Language.
The show, entitled "The Chinese Charm" and described by many of its audience as a "visual feast," was presented in both Chinese and Spanish, and was divided into three parts: Millennium Civilization, Ethnic Culture and Expo Splendor.
The performers, all of them college students from Shanghai, brought to the Chilean audience the evolution of Chinese aesthetics in fashion through history, the beauty of its painting and martial arts, and the philosophic enigma of Taiji.
Passionate songs, dances and a solo on a "suo-na," a traditional Chinese musical instrument, demonstrated the color of the folklore of the Asian nation and its 56 ethnic groups.
Across the Pacific Ocean, "Haibao," the blue-colored mascot of Shanghai Expo came to Chile and danced up the vigor of its home city -- Shanghai, the economic hub of China.
The youth of the Expo's host city sent out a warm invitation to Latin America through their energetic dance with "Haibao" and also their fashion show with dresses inspired by the different cultures present at the Expo.
And the Chilean audience? They were drunk, drunk with the charm of Chinese culture and the glamour of Shanghai Expo.
A Chilean student named Omar told Xinhua after the show that he fell in love with China and its culture.
"I truly wish there could be more of these shows!" Omar said, adding he felt compelled to see and feel the splendor of China's culture again. Omar was just one of tens of thousands of Latin Americans who succumbed to "Chinese charm."
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