At the 2024 Summer Olympic Games, a special pavilion has been set up in Paris to offer visitors a fascinating glimpse into China's long history and rich culture as well as its sports exchanges with France amid many fun interactive activities.
Inaugurated on July 24, the China House is a special pavilion built at the Hotel Salomon de Rothschild in Paris, which is open until August 10.
The launch of the house has been a routine effort by the Chinese Olympic Committee since the first "China hut" was set up during the 2004 Athens Olympics.
The pavilion is an incredible blend of East and West with classic French architecture meeting with Chinese sculptures and paintings.
It also showcases China-France exchanges in the field of sports with photos and other exhibits
"In 2021, Chinese Olympic diving champion Zhang Jiaqi and French football star Kylian Mbappe jointly attended the naming ceremony of two giant panda cubs in France. They were named as Huan Lili and Yuan Dudu. The letter 'Li' is named after Chinese translation for 'Paris'," said Xu Yiran, a tour guide for the China House.
Breakdancing is a new medal event at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Last year, the Chinese national breaking team was invited to Paris to participate in various promotion and exchange activities for the sport, according to Xu.
She noted French coaches' contributions to the development of sports events such as fencing in China as well as the rising popularity of Chinese martial arts in France.
"Chinese martial arts have now become very popular in France. The two countries have also held many sports events for enhancing bilateral exchanges in the areas of women's football, basketball and table tennis," Xu also said.
At the China House, visitors also get the chance to experience earlier forms of modern sports such as Chuiwan, an ancient Chinese ball-striking game similar to golf, and pitch-pot, a traditional Chinese game that requires players to throw arrows or sticks from a set distance into a receptacle, which is like a prototype of archery.
"China has a strong sporting tradition, which I admire very much," said Bernard Mariette, a French visitor.
"I was able to try Chinese golf and it is also very interesting to throw arrows [into a pot]. We have seen many demonstrations of the cooperation [between France and China] in sports, which has existed for about 60 years," said another French visitor named Mabel Gbedje.
Special pavilion showcases China's rich culture, sports exchanges with France
To celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival, the charcoal sparks dance, an intangible cultural heritage of China, provided a visual feast for visitors at a scenic spot in east China's Anhui Province As night fell at the Qiyunshan scenic spot in Xiuning County on Saturday, a charcoal sparks dance performance illuminated the sky. As the performers waved bamboo poles adorned with spark-emitting cages, sparks transformed into countless golden flowers.
"I've seen it on TV before. It's even more amazing and enjoyable to see on site. I highly recommend it," said Shen Lusha, a tourist.
The charcoal sparks dance is a traditional folk dance originating from central China's Hunan Province. The performers place red-hot charcoal fuel into a small iron wire cage, which is then tied to the tip of a bamboo pole with a rope. Then they swing the bamboo pole, triggering the wire lantern to move. In the night, the dance creates a mesmerizing display, with changing movements and flying sparks.
"The dimmer the light, the better it will be," said Wang Tongzhang, an inheritor of the intangible cultural heritage.
The dance not only won acclaim from the audience offline, but also gained the attention of tens of millions of online viewers on the short video platforms.
"Dancing requires a lot of efforts. Once you start, you have to keep going. The bigger the movements, the larger the sparks. So if you begin dancing, you can't pause. Sometimes, the charcoal sparks may even fall on my head and burn my hair. Through my videos, I hope people can see and understand this traditional culture," said Shi Haifeng, a short video maker.
During the Mid-Autumn Festival holiday this year, Qiyunshan scenic spot has created an immersive tourism experience with focus on intangible cultural heritage performances, aiming to attract first-time visitors to return.
"While enjoying the beautiful scenery of Qiyun Mountain, tourists can also immerse themselves in intangible cultural heritage skills. During the Mid-Autumn Festival holiday, it is expected that the number of tourists will exceed 100,000," said Tao Ru, manager of the cultural tourism department of the Qiyunshan Management Committee.
The Mid-Autumn Festival in China is a festival in honor of the moon and harvest, as well as an occasion for family and friend reunions to eat mooncakes and appreciate the moon. It falls on the fifteenth day of the eight month in the traditional Chinese calendar.
This year's festival falls on Sept 17, with the public holiday running from Sunday to Tuesday.
Dazzling charcoal sparks dance provides visual fest for visitors in China's Anhui
