The Eighth Longnan Qiqiao Girls’ Festival themed with “Walk into Charming Longnan·Explore Xihe’s Qiqiao” was co-hosted by Publicity Department of Gansu Provincial Committee of the CPC, Longnan Municipal Committee of the CPC, Longnan City Government and Cultural Exchange Organization of Presenting China to the World on August 3rd, 2016.
The Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria embassy in China H.E. Mr. Alhassan Bukhalifa, Financial Counsellor of Germany Embassy in China Mr. Norbert Venzlaff, the Secretary General of Cultural Exchange Organization of Presenting China to the World Cui Jianghong, the vice present and secretary of secretariat of All China Women’s Federation Cui Yu, the vice present of China Federation of Literary and Art Circles Yang Chengzhi, the secretary of Party group and vice present of China Society for the Study of Folk Literature and Art Qiu Yunhua, the vice present of China Society for the Study of Folk Literary and Art Wan Jianhua, the vice governor of Gansu Province Xia Hongmin, the Secretary of Longnan Municipal of the CPC Sun Xuetao, the Head of Municipal Standing Committee of the People’s Conference Yang Quanshe, the present of CPPCC Longnan Municipal Committee and secretary of Politics and Law Committee of Municipal Committee Yang Qiuhong and so on attended this opening ceremony. Li Dongxin, a member of Standing Committee of Municipal Committee and executive mayor, chaired the opening ceremony.
At the opening ceremony, H.E. Mr. Alhassan Bukhalifa, Cui Yu, Qiu Yunhua, Xia Hongmin and Sun Xuetao delivered speeches. Xia Hongmin delivered and announced the beginning of the Eighth Longnan Qiqiao Girls’ Festival.
On behalf of all members of the foreign diplomats of “Presenting China to the World”, H.E. Mr. Alhassan Bukhalifa extended sincere congratulations to the festival. He said “I am very glad to be invited by Longnan Municipal Committee of the CPC, Longnan Municipal Government and Cultural Exchange Organization of Presenting China to the World to attend the Eighth Longnan Qiqiao Girls’ Festival; Longnan city in Gansu Province boasts extensive and profound traditional culture, magical and beautiful scenery, unique and charming human landscape as well as rich and courageous national custom. This festival serves as a broader bridge for foreign mission of ‘Presenting China to the World’ to understand Chinese traditional folk culture. I do hope we can see the nature and humanity landscape that related with Qiqiao Culture and walk into Qiqiao family to have a closer look at the original Qiqiao culture. What’s most important is that we foreign diplomats in China can make contributions to the cultural, economic, and tourism development in Xige Longnan with our own strength.”
Cui Yu pointed out that Qiqiao culture, coming through more than 2,000 years’ inheritance and innovation, is reflecting the women’s pursuit and willingness toward happy life for hundreds of years, recording the spiritual force of respecting nature and work, loving life, showing wisdom and keeping thankful for what they owned and inspiring women to improve themselves and realize dreams. It is virtual to gather spiritual strength of creating happy life for building moderately prosperity society at all aspects and realizing the great Chines nation rejuvenation of Chinese Dream. The time-honored Qiqiao culture keeps paces with times with huge vitality and influence. It not only reflects the cultural confidence carried forward from ancient times but also plays an important role in inspiring women to support their home by starting business and development and inspiring them to give play to their endogenous power. I hope the departments at every level can endow Qiqiao culture with more profound and rich-able connotation, beneficial policies during the war against poor to lead more women doing entrepreneurship and help them to get rid of poverty. What is more, I also hope based on “Belt and Road” initiative cultural exchange, international community and organizations give play to the important role of women playing in the inheritance of Qiqiao culture, build all kinds of platforms for cultural exchange both at home and abroad to broaden market tunnel in cultural industry and push Qiqiao culture can make diffusion in a broader way. I hope the women can continue to carry forward the traditional virtues such as diligence, goodness, wisdom and tenacity, innovation and progress and unremitting self-improvement to bloom dazzling glorious in the noble career of building moderately prosperous society at all aspects and realizing the Chinese dream through strengthened cultural confidence and cultural self-consciousness, self-improvement, high spirit and innovated time spirit.
Qiu Yunhua spoke highly of the achievements that took on the protection and innovation of traditional cultural. He said that it is the important part in realizing the Chinese nation’s great rejuvenation of Chinese Dream to strengthen the theme of the festival and build the unique common spiritual home for Chinese nation. After thousands of years’ inheritance and development, the Qiqiao culture is already integrated into the blood of Chinese civilization becoming a common cultural gene. He hopes that people can feel the beauty of Chinese humanistic spirit from the historical deposit and draw the essence of Chinese traditional virtues to gather Chinese people’s heart, cast Chinese people’s soul and realize great rejuvenation of Chinese Dream.
Xia Hongmin said at his speech that Qiqiao culture is a miracle among the richable cultural resources, which origins and spreads from Xihan river in Longnan Gansu for a long standing with huge vitality. Qiqiao culture reflects Chinese traditional women respect nature and work, shows wisdom and keeps thankful in mind for what they had. As a National Intangible Cultural Heritage, it also embodies the value of fighting for equality, self-reliance, seeking after the ideal and contributing to the society. Recent years, according to the principle of “protecting primarily, saving firstly, exploit reasonably, and inheriting in development”, Longnan city strengthen the power on protection and inheritage of Qiqiao culture based on the profound historical deposit and unique folk custom and fine natural environment to make it bloom splendid color. Themed with “walk into charming Longnan Explore Xihe’s Qiqiao”, the Eighth Longnan Qiqiao Girls’ Festival is one part of a serious of activities of Silk Road (Dunhong) International cultural Expo. It aims at inviting leaders, guests, friends, elites from cultural and academic circles to visit the birthplace of Qiqiao to experience the cultural charming and characters of times. In this way they can taste Qiqiao’s miracle and charm and the charming landscape and unique flavor of “Jiangnan of Gansu ”. What is more, they can discuss the inheritage of Qiqiao culture, its meaning on the modern women’s development and share the experience on the protection of world intangible cultural heritage to push forward the pace of applying for the honor of World Intangible Cultural Heritage. I sincerely hope that every leaders and guests can always care for and support the construction and development in Longnan and guide work, have a visit, investment and start a business in Gansu to taste the beautiful scenery in Longyuan and feel the character of ancient Silk Road. At the same time, we do hope Longnan can further develop Qiqiao culture and connect the protection and inheritage with the world intangible cultural heritage to make Qiqiao walk out of Gansu and step into the whole country and even the world.
Sun Xuetao expressed at the speech that the Eighth Longnan Qiqiao Girls’ Festival not only an measure to implements “deeply develop and interpret the value of times” by Secretary General Xi Jinping and carry out socialist core value but also an practical action to further develop protection and heritage and push forward Longnan culture walk into the whole country and going abroad to the world. Its aim is to explore the root of Chinese Qiqiao culture, discuss the ways to protect Qiqiao culture and the plan for the applying for World Intangible Cultural Heritage. Walking into charming Longnan, explore Xihe’s culture. There are five steps: firstly, we can touch the time-honored historical process; secondly, carry forward the cultural gene of Qiqiao culture; thirdly, call on the thought of labour is honour and creative spirit of times; fourthly, spread the ideal of World sharing; fifthly, bears the longnan people’s common dream of applying for the World Intangible Cultural Heritage.
At opening ceremony, audience watched the huge scale of performance -- the original Qiqiao show. Besides, they visited Qiqiao Park, Wanxia Lake, the exhibition of Qiqiaio folk custom and E-commerce creative park.
The Fifth China (Xihe) Qiqiao Cultural Summit Forum, the Sixth International Forum for China (Longnan) Qiqiao Festival and Women’s Development as well as the Seventh Forum of the Protection and Inheritance of Longnan Qiqiao Girls’ Festival were co-hosted by the Publicity Department of Gansu Provincial Committee of the CPC and Cultural Exchange Organization of Presenting China to the World in 2013, 2014 and 2015. Besides, the Eighth Longnan Qiqiao Girls' Festival was held in Longnan city, Gansu province in 2016.