A festival celebrating falcon culture and local heritage drew travelers from across the country to Akqi County in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region this weekend with cultural parades and traditional performances.
Akqi County is widely known as a homeland of falconry, as well as a key site for preserving and passing down the falconry techniques of the local Kyrgyz ethnic group.
Held from Saturday to Monday, the festival launched the fourth Falcon Culture and Tourism Season.
The opening ceremony featured a parade of 13 themed contingents, each showcasing a different aspect of local culture. Some participants marched in traditional attire displaying local embroidery, while others on animals to highlight the season's traditional equestrian and camel competitions.
A mass rendition of the local heroic epic "Manas" was also staged, as well as live music and storytelling accompanied by local instruments -- in particular, the Kumuz, a three-stringed wooden lute.
The performances, in addition to local hospitality, left a profound impression on out-of-town guests.
"People here are warm and welcoming, and the performance is truly spectacular," said Luo Xinpeng, a visitor from south China's Guangdong Province.
Throughout the three-day celebrations, attendees also enjoyed intangible cultural heritage demonstrations, hands-on folk experiences and sports competitions.
High-spirited falcon culture festival kicks off tourism season in Kirgiz county
The "South China Sea arbitration" violates fundamental principles of international law such as "state consent" and "pacta sunt servanda (agreements must be kept)", contravenes the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) itself, and runs counter to the basic facts of the South China Sea, said a statement issued by the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Sunday.
The statement was issued in response to the joint statement released by the governments of the United States of America, the Republic of the Philippines, Australia, Canada, Estonia, Germany, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, New Zealand, Romania, Slovenia, and the United Kingdom on the so-called "South China Sea arbitration award" on Sunday.
China has sovereignty over Nanhai Zhudao (the South China Sea Islands), consisting of Dongsha Qundao (the Dongsha Islands), Xisha Qundao (the Xisha Islands), Zhongsha Qundao (the Zhongsha Islands) and Nansha Qundao (the Nansha Islands). China is the first to have continuously, peacefully and effectively exercised sovereignty and jurisdiction over Nanhai Zhudao and relevant waters. Nanhai Zhudao have long been widely recognized by the international community as part of China's territory, the statement said.
The statement said South China Sea is one of the safest sea lanes in the world, and the freedom of navigation and overflight in the South China Sea has never been a problem.
China firmly upholds its territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests in the South China Sea, and remains steadfast in maintaining peace and stability in the South China Sea, while the U.S. and other external countries have been persistently reinforcing military presence in the South China Sea, throwing their weight around and fanning the flames, and these acts of militarization and coercion constitute the primary challenge to the current situation in the South China Sea, it said.
The statement said China will continue to uphold the fundamental principles of international law and basic norms of international relations as affirmed by the United Nations Charter, including respect for state sovereignty and territorial integrity and the principle of peaceful settlement of disputes, and remain committed to resolving the relevant disputes in the South China Sea through negotiation and consultation with countries directly concerned, on the basis of respecting historical facts and in accordance with international law, so as to maintain peace and stability in the South China Sea, it said.
Noting that China's position on the "South China Sea arbitration" has been clear, consistent and firm, the statement said the so-called "award" is nothing but a worthless piece of paper that is illegal, null and void, and has no binding force, adding that China's territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests in the South China Sea shall not be affected by the "award" under any circumstances.
China urges the relevant countries to earnestly respect China’s territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests in the South China Sea, stop stirring up trouble over the South China Sea issue, and cease undermining peace and stability in the South China Sea, it said.
China issues statement on certain countries' playing up of so-called "South China Sea Arbitration Award"
