Nation's culture celebrated with open day

Nearly 1,000 people attend event to show customs and products of S. Africa at their best

Nearly 1,000 people participated in the second Embassy Open Day: Discover South Africa at the South African embassy in Beijing on Sept 23 and 24.

Visitors experienced South African wine, rooibos tea, aloe products, food and fresh fruits from South Africa. There also were performances by South African gumboot dancers and traditional Xhosa face-painting.

Building on the first such open day last year, the event this year was intended to further deepen the footprint of the South African brand in China through people-to-people exchanges, says South African Ambassador to China Dolana Msimang.

"The bonds of friendship between South Africa and China have grown and strengthened over the course of 19 years of diplomatic relations. The leaders of both countries have reaffirmed during the recent BRICS Summit in Xiamen that relations are at an all-time high," Msimang says.

She says South Africa-China relations are at the level of a comprehensive strategic partnership, and in 2017, this was further strengthened with numerous high-level exchanges, including the launch of the South Africa-China High-Level People-to-People Exchange Mechanism.

"We had the honor of hosting Vice-Premier Liu Yandong in my country and cemented relations in the areas of culture, education, health, sports, science and technology, communication, women, youth, tourism and international relations," Msimang says.

South Africa and China will share some highlights in 2018, including the 20th anniversary of diplomatic relations, the second High-Level People-to-People Exchange Mechanism, the 10th South Africa-China Strategic Dialogue Forum and the seventh Bi-National Commission, according to the ambassador.

Gao Song, a Chinese visitor at the open day event, said: "We got a whole picture of what South Africa is like, including the food, the people and the cultures. I didn't know that they also produce tea in South Africa. It's nicely surprising to know that we share this common love of tea."

Gao, who registered online after reading about the open day, said he was happy that he got the chance to learn about a country that is "so far away and could be mysterious, as many people might never get a chance to actually go there".

He added: "I'd like to participate in more cultural events of embassies, not only of South Africa but also other African countries, where we can interact with the people and experience the traditional cultures."

yandongjie@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily Africa Weekly 09/29/2017 page3)