Thousands join in the festival spirit in Egypt

Two countries with ancient histories share a love for culture on the banks of the Nile, Deng Zhangyu reports from Cairo.

Egypt celebrated Spring Festival before China this year when the Maadi Island Park along the River Nile in Cairo hosted 11,000 locals on Feb 5 for an authentic Chinese experience, starting off with signature dragon and lion dances.

The park was covered with Chinese red lanterns, and kites of all shapes were flying high. Booths displayed Chinese traditional arts and crafts such as shadow playing, paper-cuts and painting on leaves. And of course, Chinese dumplings, noodles and chicken rice were offered along with other traditional foods.

This is the sixth year that people in Cairo have enjoyed a Chinese festival. Liu Shiping, executive director of the China Culture Center in Cairo, says the number of Egyptians taking part in their annual Happy Spring Festival has risen from 2,000 in 2010 to 11,000 this year.

"China and Egypt are both countries with long histories. We have many cultural similarities. That's why Egyptians are interested in China and eager to know more about China," said Liu.

Mahmoud Nasser, a company secretary who was visiting the festival for the first time, said he wanted to know more about Chinese culture and how China has developed since his own country and China both have such great histories.

Nasser has learned Chinese kung fu for several years. He and his 16-year-old sister joined a kung fu club in Cairo which has more than 100 members. They're also fans of Chinese kung fu movies starring Jackie Chan, Bruce Lee or Jet Li. Their reasons for learning kung fu are simple: to protect themselves and keep fit. However, except for kung fu, they know nothing about China.

The 27-year-old said he wanted to learn from China to help his own country to get stronger.

Besides locals, the Happy Spring Festival attracts many people from cities outside Cairo.

It took Mody Mansoura and his twin brother two hours by bus to join in the festival fun. They are at their senior year in college and spent three months learning Chinese in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, last year. They stayed with a local Chinese family to celebrate Chinese New Year.

"I decided to come when I heard there would be a Spring Festival celebration in my own country. I like dumplings," Mansoura said.

He can sing several Chinese pop songs and loves to listen to Chinese pop music. It's easy for him to find information about China and its culture online.

The 21-year-old said he wanted to be a tourist guide after graduation as more and more Chinese people are traveling to Egypt.

Liu, the executive director of the China Culture Center in Cairo, said that as well as the festival, a song and dance gala featuring both Chinese and Egyptian artists was also being staged as part of the celebrations for New Year.

With increasing exchanges between China and other countries, people across the globe seem to be paying more attention to China's festivals. Last year, 321 cities in 112 countries around the world held Happy Spring Festivals organized by China's Ministry of Culture.

"The activity is a good way for Egyptians to experience Chinese culture as more and more locals are eager to know more about China," added Liu.

The most popular attraction at the fair was the performance of Chinese kung fu. Liu said the kung fu class provided by the China Culture Center in Cairo was so hot that when a class for 50 people opens, it fills up quickly. The number of people who have learned Chinese in the culture center is more than 8,000 since its launch in 2002.

"Although the language is still an obstacle, it can't influence the rising popularity of Chinese culture in Egypt," said Liu, adding that the sight of local people waiting in line to take photos with Chinese tourists perfectly illustrated their interest in the ancient oriental country.

Contact the writer at dengzhangyu@chinadaily.com.cn