STORY: Chinese troupe wins Ethiopians' hearts with stunning performance
SHOOTING TIME: Jan. 24, 2024
DATELINE: Jan. 26, 2024
LENGTH: 0:01:54
LOCATION: Addis Ababa
CATEGORY: CULTURE

SHOTLIST:
1. STANDUP (English): LIU FANGQIANG, Xinhua correspondent
2. Various of the performance
3. SOUNDBITE (English): KEBEDE KASSA, Local resident
4. Various of the performance
5. SOUNDBITE (Chinese): XU NA, Chief director of the show
6. Scenes of the venue

STORYLINE:

STANDUP (English): LIU FANGQIANG, Xinhua correspondent
"To celebrate the Chinese Lunar New Year of the Dragon, to promote the friendship between China and Ethiopia, an art troupe from central China's Henan Province has been invited to Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, to present a series of splendid art performances. The art performances will include some traditional Chinese martial arts, acrobatics, Sichuan opera face-changing, and also some local traditional Ethiopian dances."

Welcoming the guests at the event, Shen Qinmin, minister counselor at the Chinese Embassy in Ethiopia, said Henan is rich in culture and history, and the cultural troupe would show a "great performance" to the delight of the audience.

Manyazewal Endeshaw, general manager of the Ethiopian National Theater, said Ethiopia and China are known to have ancient civilizations with a long history and splendid cultures.

Kebede Kassa, an employee in the Addis Ababa City Administration, said that he enjoyed the cultural show very much, noting that the Chinese cultural shows have been his favorite ones since childhood.

SOUNDBITE 1 (English): KEBEDE KASSA, Local resident
"It's very fantastic. I'm very happy to see such an event in Ethiopia, because I know it in China, I have been there for one year. I was attending my second degree there. Now I'm just witnessing that fabulous festival in China coming to Ethiopia."

According to Xu Na, chief director of the cultural event, the whole troupe, consisting of 19 performers, will present a series of shows in Addis Ababa in the next few days.

SOUNDBITE 2 (Chinese): XU NA, Chief director of the show
"As an artist, we hope that we can create more great work to go abroad for foreign audiences. I also hope our friendship with Africa, with people in Ethiopia, can last for long."

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Addis Ababa.
(XHTV)