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US students sample local ethnic culture in tour of southwest China's Guizhou

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US students sample local ethnic culture in tour of southwest China's Guizhou

2024-09-19 17:38 Last Updated At:09-20 00:07

A group of 80 students and teachers from the U.S. state of Washington wrapped up a four-day visit to southwest China's Guizhou Province on Wednesday, with the activity-packed trip helping deepen their understanding of Chinese culture and promoting cultural exchanges and mutual understanding between the two sides.

During their visit to Taijiang County on Tuesday, the American students learned about a traditional reed-pipe wind instrument called the 'Lusheng', which features predominantly in the music of the Miao people and the wooden drum dance, a folk dance popular among the ethnic group. They also enjoyed a bite of the tasty Guizhou sour fish soup, local rice wine and experienced other diverse intangible cultural heritage from the area.

"It (Lusheng) is a very interesting instrument. I never knew about it until I came here and learned about it. And I really like it because it's pretty simple. It's like pretty easy to learn and I love the sound of it. It's really amazing," said Cryan McKee, a student from Tri-Cities High School.

"The most impressive for me, I would say that being able to gather here today and being able to experience [real culture] with the cooking, and I believe it was the sour soup that we learned to cook as well as joining in the drum dancing as well. That was something that was extremely special," said Rowan Hinds, a student from the Science and Math Institute in Tacoma.

Later on Tuesday evening, two basketball matches between local residents and the U.S. students gathered many tourists and neighboring villagers around the court to enjoy the fun international face-off amid a friendly atmosphere.

In addition, the young students also visited another picturesque village in the rural heart of Guizhou's Leishan County to experience the charm of local food and the ethnic Miao culture.

Organizers say the group are enjoying a comprehensive tour of China, helping to build bridges and friendships between the two peoples which they hope will have a lasting impact on these young participants.

"This time they would visit places, like Guizhou, Sichuan, Shandong, Beijing. The trip may allow them to plant a seed of Sino-US friendship from a young age and then gradually nurture them into strong pillars that will actively contribute to the robust and stable development of Sino-U.S. relation," said Shen Xin, vice president of the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries.

US students sample local ethnic culture in tour of southwest China's Guizhou

US students sample local ethnic culture in tour of southwest China's Guizhou

Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said on Monday that the situation in Iran is "under total control" following violence linked to protests that spiked over the weekend.

Addressing foreign diplomats in Tehran, the foreign minister noted that armed terrorist groups had infiltrated the protests, attempting to divert them from their legitimate course. He claimed that evidence has been gathered showing Iranian security forces being shot at, with the aim of causing further casualties. He accused the United States and Israel of exploiting the unrest to interfere in Iran's internal affairs.

Araghchi further stated that the government is closely monitoring developments on the streets, emphasizing that "the situation has come under control." He also affirmed that internet services, curtailed during the unrest, would be restored after coordination with security agencies.

The government has engaged in dialogue with merchants and protest representatives and initiated reforms to address grievances related to price hikes and currency depreciation. Iran has taken a series of actions and measures to respond to the demands of peaceful demonstrators, the foreign minister said.

Earlier on Sunday, Araghchi said that clear evidence links recent riots and vandalism of public facilities in Iran to the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad. This came after former U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo mentioned Mossad agents operating on Iran's streets in a social media post. The Iranian foreign minister asserted that police are being attacked by "terrorists" acting under the direction of Israeli operatives, whom Pompeo publicly acknowledged.

The protests initially erupted over a sharp depreciation of the rial and sweeping subsidy reforms. Iranian authorities have blamed the unrest on foreign-linked agents and U.S. sanctions.

Iranian foreign minister says situation "fully under control," accuses Israeli intelligence of stoking unrest

Iranian foreign minister says situation "fully under control," accuses Israeli intelligence of stoking unrest

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