New Year celebration deepens cultural bonds between China, South Africa

As the Chinese Spring Festival draws closer, hundreds of people gathered in Pretoria, South Africa's administrative capital, for a front-row experience of Chinese New Year traditions, as artists from China's Sichuan Province brought stunning performances and festive spirit to local audiences.

The event, themed "Happy Chinese New Year," was co-hosted by China's Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the Chinese Embassy in South Africa at the South African State Theatre.

As the curtain lifted, South African performers took the stage with Viva South Africa, bringing the hall to life with rhythm and color. Dressed in traditional Zulu, Xhosa, and Sotho attire, they danced to the pounding beat, prompting a roar of applause from the audience.

Following their performance, visiting artists of the Sichuan Performing Arts Troupe delighted the audience with a spectacular showcase of local traditions.

Instrumental ensembles, Yi and Qiang ethnic dances, acrobatics and magic unfolded seamlessly on stage, joined by striking northern Sichuan wooden puppets. The highlight was the iconic face-changing opera, whose split-second transformations drew gasps and applause from the crowd.