Park holds cultural activities for visitors

When night falls, the eastern area of Guixi Ecological Park in Chengdu, Sichuan province, is crowded with visitors who come to participate in cultural activities that are part of the Chengdu FISU World University Games.

The games opened on Friday and will run through Tuesday.

From 6 pm to 8:30 pm daily, performances are featured on a stage 46 meters long, 11 meters wide and 18 meters high.

Intangible cultural heritage inheritors have exhibited traditional Chinese martial arts, including taichi, said Qiu Li, an information officer with the executive committee of the Chengdu FISU University Games.

A panda-themed acrobatic show has been staged. Local artists have played guqin, a seven-stringed plucked instrument that is somewhat similar to the zither. Sichuan Opera performers have performed the famous gundeng, or "rolling the lamp", and bianlian, also known as face-changing, Qiu said.

Gundeng is one of the unique skills featured in Sichuan Opera, together with bianlian and fire-spitting.

During a gundeng show, a male actor dressed like a clown puts an ignited oil lamp on his head and then performs various acrobatic moves. No matter what he does, the fire in the lamp never goes out.

In the days to come, folk orchestras will be invited to play traditional Chinese songs such as A Moonlit Night on the Spring River and Fisherman's Song at Dusk using the guzheng (the Chinese plucked zither), flute and other traditional instruments.

Orchestras from the United States, South Korea and other countries will be invited to perform as part of cultural exchange efforts, Qiu said.

On the first day of the cultural activities in the park, 30 members of the FISU Executive Committee, led by the organization's acting President Leonz Eder, joined the fun.

"The format of the event was very impressive, allowing Chengdu citizens to learn more about the FISU World University Games, and also showing Chinese culture well," Eder said. "It allows us to understand local history and Chinese wisdom, which was very good."

Also on that day, FISU Director-General Paulo Ferreira was invited to play the drums to kick off the cultural gala. He said that he liked the event very much and would visit the park again, according to Qiu.

The activities have attracted athletes from Australia and other countries to the park, Qiu said.