A 70-year-old Chinese artist has made it his mission to pass on the centuries-old fold dance to the younger generation in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong.

The Yingge dance, or “dance to the hero’s song”, is a form of folk dance popular in Chaozhou and Shantou in Guangdong. It combines opera, dance and martial arts, dates back to the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and is often performed at traditional Chinese festivals.

The dance was added to the list in 2006 as the first national intangible cultural heritage.

He Murong, who began practicing Yingge dance as a child, has made a name for himself as the dance’s heir and troupe leader. He and his colleagues have incorporated the Southern Fist kung fu style into their work to create innovative performances that captivate audiences.

According to He, training a Yingge dance artist from scratch takes at least a year, and continuous practice is required to achieve coordination with other troupe members.

“Since I started the troupe in 2021, several generations of members have come and gone. Male performers usually join the troupe between the ages of 15 and 17. But when they turn 21 or 22, they have to find a job or go to university,” He said.

The experienced artist said he would like to see more people start learning Yingge dance at a younger age so they can join the dance troupe straight away when they turn 18.

Experienced Chinese artist dedicates himself to teaching folk dance to the younger generation

A government-business dialogue event was held on Tuesday in Xi’an, the capital of Shaanxi Province. The aim was to attract more investment and promote communication between companies and governments at various levels.

At the event, representatives of the relevant Chinese government departments reaffirmed the country’s determination to further intensify its opening-up policy.

“Not long ago, the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China held its third plenary session. Over 300 reform and opening-up measures were passed. This shows that China is further strengthening its opening-up strategy. China’s market is becoming more open and many sectors are becoming more accessible to foreign companies,” said Ren Hongbin, chairman of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade.

Representatives of dozens of prestigious foreign and local companies attended the event, which was organized by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade and the Shaanxi Provincial Government.

In their respective speeches at the event, the participants spoke very positively about the opening policy.

“After the third plenary session, China has officially entered a critical period. We are very confident that there will be further opening-up measures in the future. Our company has been in China for 50 years and has no plans to leave the country. This alone is the best vote of confidence,” said Lu Haiqing, Vice President and Chief Corporate Affairs Officer of the Greater China Region of InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG).

From July 15 to 18, the third plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China was held in Beijing, where a resolution was passed on further comprehensively deepening reforms to promote China’s modernization.

The resolution, which focuses on economic structural reform, envisages comprehensive reforms in various areas and aspects. It proposes more than 300 important reform measures, all of which include reforms at the level of systems, mechanisms and institutions.

Dialogue between government and business in northwest China aims to promote investment