The 2024 “Sino-French Children’s Choir Friendship Bridge” was launched with an opening concert at the Hainan Song & Dance Theater on the evening of October 25. Co-hosted by Hainan University (HNU), CPC Wuzhishan Municipal Committee, Wuzhishan Municipal Government, and the Hainan Performing Arts Group under the guidance of the Hainan Provincial Publicity Department, the event brought together children’s choirs from China and France to celebrate friendship through music. Fu Xuanguo, Secretary of CPC HNU Committee, attended the concert.

The fully packed auditorium resonated with melodious singing of the choirs. The Le Choeur des Polysons performed songs like “If I Go to China,” “Hymn to Love,” and “The Moon Represents My Heart,” while the Wuzhishan Li and Miao Children’s Choir sang “Long Time, No See,” “Singing Wuzhishan to France,” and “Time in the Rainforest.” The two choirs also cooperated for a rendition of “Auld Lang Syne”. Their angelic voices and pleasant melodies won lasting enthusiastic applause.

The Le Choeur des Polysons performing songs (Photo from event organizer)

The Wuzhishan Li and Miao Children’s Choir performing songs (Photo from event organizer)

The concert also featured performances by HNU Little Cranes Children’s Charity Choir, singers of Li and Miao ethnicities, and Hainan ICH inheritors playing with traditional Li and Miao musical instruments. The concert programs were elaborately designed, some celebrating peace and friendship and others displaying the music genres and styles of Hainan’s ethnic minorities.  

HNU Little Cranes Children’s Charity Choir performing songs (Photo from event organizer)

Earlier on that day, the “Sino-French Children’s Choir Friendship Bridge” study tour kicked off with a ceremony at HNU International Exchange Center. Members of the Le Choeur des Polysons and the Wuzhishan Li and Miao Children’s Choir visited HNU History Museum and Science Popularization Center, where they learned about HNU’s history and explored the science exhibits.

The “Sino-French Children’s Choir Friendship Bridge” event, which ran from October 24 to October 30, included three choral performances. The other two concerts took place on October 26 at HNU Music Hall and October 27 at Baoshan Bamboo House in Maona Village, Wuzhishan, both open to the public. The French choir also visited HNU’s Danzhou campus and Dongpo Academy to experience Hainan’s rich cultural heritage and the legacy of Su Dongpo, the renowned government official and literary heavyweight once exiled to Hainan in the Song Dynasty.

Source from HNU News

Translated by Han Yunsheng

Proofread by Kuang Xiaowen, Yang Jie