the president of the federation of chinese associations in togo, who has been in africa for more than 30 years, talks about the significance of china-africa friendly exchanges
2024-09-12
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video: east-west questions·china-foreign dialogue | president of the federation of overseas chinese in togo: from cultural and museum exchanges to green development, china-africa cooperation is timely source: china news network
chinanews.com, september 11 (xue lingqiao) recently, when he was a guest on "east-west questions·china dialogue", xie yanshen, president of the federation of overseas chinese in togo, elaborated on his unique insights into china-africa people-to-people exchanges. he believes that african culture is closely connected with the world, the arts of countries around the world are interlinked, and cultural and tourism cooperation is an important part of china-africa people-to-people exchanges.
the 2024 forum on china-africa cooperation summit was held in beijing from september 4 to 6. focusing on topics such as china-africa people-to-people exchanges, xie yanshen, with his more than 30 years of experience in africa, deeply explored the profound heritage of china-africa people-to-people cultural exchanges.
to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between china and tanzania, the china-tanzania cultural tourism festival will be held in beijing in may 2024. xie yanshen believes that cultural and tourism cooperation is an important part of china-africa people-to-people exchanges.
from serengeti national park to zanzibar island, xie yanshen spoke of tanzania's rich tourism resources. he said that the annual animal migration attracts many chinese tourists to experience the charm of wild africa.
he also mentioned the important role of the tanzania-zambia railway in promoting the interconnection of tourism resources in africa. he said that the tanzania-zambia railway not only opened up the tourism resources of tanzania and zambia, but also paved a convenient way for the flow of goods between landlocked countries in africa. on july 14, 1976, the tanzania-zambia railway built with chinese assistance was officially opened to traffic and officially handed over to the governments of tanzania and zambia. "this railway is a powerful witness to the traditional friendship between china and africa," said xie yanshen.
as a music teacher, xie yanshen also has unique insights into african music. he particularly appreciates the naturalness and agility of african ballet, and believes that its unique jumps and toe bends show the uniqueness of african culture. he pointed out that many art forms such as dance movements, contemporary music, and clothing and costumes are influenced by african culture. "especially in sculpture art, many world-class artists have drawn artistic nourishment from africa," said xie yanshen.
most of xie yanshen's art collections are sculptures. out of his love for african art, he officially established the gulf of guinea african international art museum in togo in 2011. the museum has a rich and exquisite collection, including authentic works used in sacrificial ceremonies or daily life by various african tribes.
"once an american professor visited my museum and said it was one of the best museums she had ever seen in africa." encouraged by this, xie yanshen set a goal for himself to run the museum better. this was also the original intention of his collecting career - to protect the cultural treasures of africa.
in 2019, the world council of museums held its annual meeting in west africa, and xie yanshen's gulf of guinea african international art museum was commended by the conference; at an annual meeting of the world council of museums in burkina faso, xie yanshen was invited to attend the meeting as a representative of togo. after that, he was also nominated as a consultant to the togo museum association.
xie yanshen donated part of his collection to the national museum of china, hoping that through this platform, more chinese people will appreciate the charm of african art and promote cultural exchanges and mutual understanding between the two peoples. he firmly believes that cultural resonance will further promote cooperation and development in more areas between the two sides and inject new vitality into the future development of china-africa relations.
"through the exhibition, you will learn about africa, their sculptures, music and other cultural elements, and you will have a sense of novelty and yearning for africa. culture comes first, and the feelings between countries and peoples will become deeper, and cooperation in other areas will gradually emerge," xie yanshen concluded. (end)
