A Chinese artist demonstrates to children the ancient art of woodblock printing at the bazaar. Pic: Baher Amin / The Peninsula
Hundreds of visitors to the Museum of Islamic Art (MIA) Park yesterday sampled a slice of the rich Chinese culture with a profusion of exhibitions and activities providing a glimpse into the world’s most populous state in a nutshell.
The Chinese Festival, which serves as a major highlight of the Qatar China 2016 Year of Culture, showcases snippets of the important aspects of China’s vibrant arts and culture which date back many centuries.
A gigantic inflatable panda, cherry blossom trees, a tea house, a bazaar, a Chinese food court, a photography exhibition and a stage where folk and classical dance and music are performed nightly present a complete experience of China to visitors.
“It has been my dream to visit China one day and this festival has provided me a very good introduction to Chinese culture. The colorful design of the venue which exudes a lot of Chinese character,” said Faisal, one of the early festival visitors.
Since the festival opened on Wednesday, the bazaar has been a big draw for its distinct display of ancient Chinese arts and handicrafts which have survived up to this day. Rice sculpture, paper cutting, ceramics, puppet show, woodblock printing, colored lanterns and kites are among those showcased at the bazaar.
“The bazaar is a unique an important experience for me because it tells the history of each of these ancient Chinese arts and handicrafts and showcases how they are made by artists and artisans of today,” said Alvie, one of the visitors who bought a souvenir item exclusively created by one of the artists.
Qatari products such as Arabian perfumes, handicraft, and souvenir items from the MIA gift shop are also available at the bazaar.
Many visitors also thronged the photo exhibition featuring works by four Chinese and two Qatari photographers. It showcases portraits of people and stunning images of landscapes and cityscapes taken from both countries by the photographers during the cultural exchange programme.
Donning colourful costumes, performers from cities of Wenzhou and Lishui enthralled the audience with over a dozen musical and dance items such as the Lotus Dragon folk dance, Flying Apsaras traditional dance, Slender Waist classical dance and Wedding song and folk dance.
The festival runs until today from 10am to 10pm, one of the highlights of which is a dragon boat race.
