In October in Xishuangbanna, Yunnan, the coconut shadows are whirling, the greenery is thick, and the Lancang River flows slowly through Jinghong City.
A river, where all things coexist because of its intersection. The Lancang-Mekong River is one of the most international rivers in the world that flows through many countries. The people of the six countries drink from the same river and are one family.
From October 28th to November 1st, the 14th Lancang Mekong River Basin National Culture and Art Festival was held in Jinghong City, Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan Province. Under the theme of "Drinking from the same river, becoming one family", artists and representatives from Lancang-Mekong countries used art as a link to continue to write the story of interdependence between mountains and rivers and the connection between people.
Everyone appreciates their own beauty, and we share the beauty together
"The flowers on the roadside are blooming, and the fruits on the trees are waiting to be picked... Guests from far away, please stay." On the evening of October 28, in the Manting Royal Garden Theater, the melody of this Yunnan folk song sounded leisurely, and the 14th Lancang-Mekong River Basin National Culture and Art Festival kicked off.
At the party, Cambodia's "Kailash Dance" was simple and elegant. The dancers' gestures rose and fell, and their postures slowly turned, revealing the calmness and power of Angkor civilization without moving. Laos's "Kasannu Antiphon and Luang Prabang Antiphon" conveyed their emotions through songs, and the performers sang each time. and, allowing the audience to immerse themselves in the folk song tunes and ancient city customs in Luang Prabang; Myanmar's "Mingglaba" has a lively rhythm, and the dancers dance to the drums to convey auspicious wishes... The arts of Lancang-Mekong countries complement each other, showing the charm of diverse civilizations.
"'Mingglaba' means 'hello' in Burmese. We hope to use this song and dance to convey goodwill and blessings." Myanmar song and dance performer Pang Pha Pa Win said, "I am very happy to meet the performers from the six Lancang-Mekong countries here and understand each other's different cultural customs. We drink from the same river, and the Lancang-Mekong Culture and Art Festival has established a platform for cultural exchanges for the six countries. I am very happy that we can use art as a link to learn from each other and get closer to each other."
Gao Bai, a teacher at the Central Conservatory of Music, participated in the Lancang-Mekong Art Festival for the second time. This time she brought her work "Colorful Clouds Chasing the Moon". "Although this work has long been a household name, we adapted a version specially for the Lancang-Mekong Culture and Art Festival to fully display the beautiful and beautiful timbre of Chinese national musical instruments."
"The Art Festival connects the music of the six Lancang-Mekong countries, where we communicate with each other and share music. I hope that in the future, young people can pass on the friendship between national music and art of each country from generation to generation." said Dr. Banglong Pattayagu, a senior expert on Thai music.
After more than 30 years of development, the art festival has gradually become an important platform for Lancang-Mekong countries to showcase diverse cultures, promote mutual learning among civilizations, and enhance people-to-people friendship. Held one after another, "art as a link" has evolved from a common vision to a frequent exchange between Lancang-Mekong countries, and mutual friendship has been continuously enhanced through gatherings time after time.
"We send an art troupe to participate in the Lancang-Mekong Culture and Arts Festival every year. This is the third time that I have led a team to participate in this event." said Kong Sirui, deputy director of the ASEAN Affairs Department of the Ministry of Culture and Arts of Cambodia. "The art festival not only promotes exchanges between Lancang-Mekong countries in the fields of singing and dancing and other arts, but also enhances understanding of each other's cultures. More importantly, it builds a bridge of people-to-people connections."
At the event, Consul General of Myanmar in Kunming Zeya Miao Min greeted everyone in Chinese. He said that China and Myanmar currently have many exchanges in culture and art, and hope to promote more exchange projects with China in the future. "China and Myanmar are connected by mountains and rivers, and have been good neighbors and good friends since ancient times. I believe that the two countries will continue to maintain close exchanges in the future, and the friendship between the two peoples will become deeper and deeper."
"Everyone was smiling, and the atmosphere was friendly and harmonious. This made me deeply feel the positive impact of culture and art. Culture and art can bring people from different countries together, allowing everyone to understand and respect each other more." said Mephon Maisay, member of the Standing Committee of the Party Committee of the Lao Ministry of Health and president of the Lao University of Medical Sciences.
Develop together and become closer as we go together
As the river flows forward, the Lancang-Mekong countries are getting closer and closer, and the road to common development is getting wider and wider.
As a supporting core activity of the 14th Lancang-Mekong River Basin National Culture and Art Festival, the "Lancang-Mekong Good Things Carnival" takes "Meet Lancang-Mekong, Meet Good Things" as its theme, and opens a market corridor at the Lancang River Observation Deck in Xishuangbanna where you can browse, taste and appreciate.
As night falls, the riverside is crowded with tourists. There are 128 stalls decorated with thatch in a long row along the 1.2-kilometer trail. The aroma of burnt coffee mixed with the sweetness of tropical fruits fills the river breeze. Dai brocade, bay leaf cultural and creative products, bean pod dolls, Pu'er tea... Six major markets are spread out: good rainforest tea, good beans, good products, good fruits, good taste, and good living. The dazzling array of Lancang-Mekong good products attracts domestic and foreign citizens and tourists to stop and linger.
The reporter approached the stall and the owner Xiaodong (pseudonym) was busy greeting customers: "This time we brought food, spices and daily necessities imported from Thailand, which are very popular among tourists. In recent years, thanks to the convenient customs clearance policy of the China-Laos Railway and Kunming Customs, the transportation time of goods has been shortened and the cost has also been reduced. Many of these foods are what we loved to eat when we were children, and they are full of childhood memories."
Cross-border goodies can come to the stalls because of the increasingly dense transportation network in the Lancang-Mekong River Basin. "It is no longer the past where the water is far away and the mountains are high, the ancient Tea Horse Road is no longer far away, the Lancang River stretches up, the Mekong River runs, the China-Laos Railway is the colorful bridge of friendship..." The "Colorful Bridge of Friendship" performed at the party sang out the increasingly close interconnectedness of the Lancang-Mekong countries.
This year marks the fifth anniversary of the opening of the China-Laos Railway. The Xishuangbanna section of the China-Laos Railway has had more than 43 million passengers arriving and departing, and the import and export cargo exceeded 21 million tons. With the China-Laos Railway as the backbone, the "Lancang-Mekong Express Line+" continues to be enriched, and the China-Laos-Thailand-Cambodia, China-Laos-Thailand-Malaysia and other high-sea international multimodal transport trains have been launched. At present, the types of cross-border goods on the China-Laos railway have expanded from more than 10 types in the initial stage of opening to more than 3,800 types, reaching 19 countries and regions including Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam.
Not limited to railways, the cargo volume and trade volume of the Lancang-Mekong international waterway continue to rise; international tourism shipping departing from Jinghong Port to Chiang Saen, Thailand, has made the Lancang-Mekong trip from imagination to a tangible journey... What the Lancang-Mekong River carries is not just water flow, but the common life and common future of people of all countries in the more than 800,000 square kilometers of the entire basin.
During the Art Festival, the academic forum "Towards Rural Transformation in the Global South towards Urban-rural Integration: Practical Paths from China, South Asia and Southeast Asia" was held in Sanman Village, Jinghong City. Experts and scholars from various countries participating in the meeting conducted in-depth exchanges and discussions on rural transformation and took this opportunity to establish cooperation.
In Mangajian Village, Menghan Town, three Dai villages, Mankondai, Manluanzhan and Mankonmai, live together. People are accustomed to calling them "Three Man" villages. An abandoned pond was transformed into an open-air swimming pool, an idle warehouse was transformed into a leisure tea pavilion, a low-yield rubber forest was transformed into a popular science park, and an abandoned water tower was transformed into a characteristic "village cafe"... The three villages were staggered and developed in an integrated manner, relying on the "village collective + cooperative + farmer" model to gradually push traditional tourism into in-depth residence.
"The development prospects of China's rural areas are very good and are making continuous progress. Through relevant projects, villagers can get better support and have the opportunity to develop industries, receive education and obtain employment opportunities." Ahmad Firas Hudi, assistant professor of sociology at the National University of Jakarta, Indonesia, said after visiting Samman Village that Indonesian rural areas can learn from China's experience, especially in technology application and infrastructure construction. “I hope that through this exchange, we can help Indonesian rural areas explore a path that suits them, and at the same time promote the application of relevant experience and technology in Indonesian rural areas.”
At present, the six Lancang-Mekong countries have achieved full coverage of the construction of a bilateral community with a shared future. The trade volume between China and the Lancang-Mekong countries has exceeded 500 billion US dollars. Measures to facilitate personnel exchanges among the Lancang-Mekong countries have been implemented. The radiation effect of the China-Laos railway has turned every station along the line into a shared prosperity. On the glorious platform, a number of "small but beautiful" projects to benefit the people, such as the "Harvest Lancang-Mekong" and "Operation Ganquan" initiated by China, have taken effect in the villages of Lancang-Mekong countries... Friendly exchanges in the Lancang-Mekong River Basin have long gone from a river to each other to knowing each other generation after generation.
(Our reporters Xu Xinyu and Ruan Ziyan)
