by Ahmed Shafiq
CAIRO, Sept. 24 (Xinhua) -- As the moon became full on Monday, Chinese and Egyptian artists celebrated this year's Mid-Autumn Festival in Cairo.
Amid joyful atmosphere at the Chinese Cultural Center in the capital, dozens of Chinese and Egyptians marked the Chinese festival with bands from southwest China's Yunnan Province performing artistic and folkloric shows.
The singing and dance shows were performed by artists from the Yunnan Culture and Art Troupe. Some of the performers are of ethnic minorities in Yunnan.
Mid-Autumn Festival is a harvest festival celebrated in China and usually falls in September or October, on 15th day of the eighth month of the Chinese lunar calendar.
The festival is celebrated when the moon is believed to be the biggest and fullest, and mooncake is the most characteristic festival food.
For the Chinese people, the festival means family reunion and harmony as the Chinese people believe a full moon is a symbol of reunion, harmony, and happiness.
"I missed my family who are in China, but I did not feel I'm away this year," Zhu Tingting, Chinese director of Confucius Institute at the Suez Canal University, told Xinhua after the party.
The lady, whose institute teaches Egyptian college students the Chinese language, said she did not feel alone as she met many Chinese people living in Egypt.
"I also loved how the Egyptian shared us these happy moments. They made us feel we are at home," she added.
She stressed that Monday's event is a new bridge linking people from Egypt and China.
As the performances continued, the audience eagerly stood to watch Chinese artists performing numerous breathtaking shows.
"Egypt is one of the ancient civilizations and we want to bring the traditional songs and dances of Yunnan's outstanding ethnic minorities to the Egyptian people," Wang Chenghuai, head of the Yunnan Culture and Art Troupe.
He expressed hope that cultural exchange between China and Egypt can be further developed to promote the friendship between the two countries.
After the relations between China and Egypt were upgraded to a comprehensive strategic partnership in 2014, cultural exchange has been at its peak as cultural and musical delegations have paid frequent visits.
Through such cultural moves, both countries want to boost friendly ties under the Belt and Road Initiative, which certainly promotes deeper understanding of each other and wakes up the ancient civilizations in the new era.
After the performance, Chinese hosts served their guests, both Chinese and Egyptians, a variety of Chinese food and the mooncakes to give them a taste of China in an Egyptian city.
"It is lovely to be here today. I came with my Egyptian friends and Chinese colleagues to celebrate this festival," Mira Ahmed, an Egyptian translator of Chinese language, told Xinhua.
The young lady said she wanted to be present at the party to give her Chinese friends and colleagues the feeling that they are not alone.
"Egypt is their home and we are their family members. They really got that feeling and we enjoyed the feast," she added.
