On the evening of May 24, Huaqiao University’s (HQU) Xiamen campus played host to a captivating drum live show “Common Beat, Shared Future: The Silk Road’s Vibrant Heartbeat”, doubling as a significant cultural exchange event for the participating countries of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The event successfully brought together over 1,000 students from more than 20 countries, including Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, and the Philippines, as well as from China’s Mainland, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan. Meanwhile, an impressive online audience of over 10,000 teachers, students, and netizens tuned in via livestream.
For the first time, HQU presented its original drum show “Observing the Moon”, a four-chapter performance comprising “The Uncompanioned Glow”, “Moonbeams on a Distant Sill”, “Silvered Tides, and Celestial Calm”, and “One Moon, Countless Hearts Aligned”. HQU’s 24 Festive Drums teams from Quanzhou and Xiamen campuses, and the Malaysian students’ 24 Festive Drums team integrated dynamic drum pieces “Guidance,” “Awakening”, “Silk Road Rhythms” , “Liberation” and “Sublimation” with other artistic expression including martial arts, choral singing, Guzheng (a traditional Chinese instrument), vocal music, and dance. The moon, central to the performance, was imbued with the symbolism of love, poetic expression, and dreams. Through this, the performance endeavored to underscore the strong bonds between the countries participating in the Initiative and advocate the building of a community with a shared future for mankind. It offered the live audience a truly unique and stunning audio-visual feast.
Guest performers included internationally renowned Singapore’s ZingO Festival Drum Group, and Malaysia’s Northern Drum, as well as the domestic Tsinghua University 24 Festive Drums Team, Quzhou-Lichun 24 Festive Drums Team, and a school children drum team from Xiamen Zhuba School.
The performance highlighted the allure of fine traditional Chinese culture through its drum music, and aimed to promote understanding and cultural exchanges among the participating countries of the BRI, better tell the BRI stories and make its voice heard.
The event was organized by HQU Student Affairs Office, with support from the Publicity Department of the CPC Xiamen Municipal Committee and funding from a special initiative dedicated to the cultural and art development of Xiamen.
“Sublimation” Presented by HQU 24 Festive Drums Team of Quanzhou Campus
“Silk Road Rhythms” Presented by HQU 24 Festive Drums Team of Xiamen Campus
“Liberation” Presented by HQU Malaysian Students 24 Festive Drums Team
“Drum Rhythms for Spring’s Return” Presented by ZingO Festival Drum Group from Singapore
“Rhythms of Joyful Celebration” Presented by Xiamen Zhuba School Students Drum Team
“Flames to Blossom: The Spring Reborn”: a Collaborative Performance by Malaysia’s Northern Drum and China’s Quzhou-Lichun 24 Festive Drums Team
(Editor: Wei Linying)
