OPENING CEREMONY: Kuwaiti Ambassador to China Mohammad Saleh Althuwaikh (left) and Jiang Xufan, Deputy Secretary of the BFSU Committee of the Communist Party of China, declare the start of the Kuwaiti Cultural Week together at the university on April 14 (ZHANG LIPING)

A Kuwaiti Cultural Week kicked off on April 14 at Beijing Foreign Studies University (BFSU), China's top language and international studies university. The event was held by the Embassy of Kuwait in Beijing and BFSU, as a celebration of the 40th anniversary of diplomatic ties between China and Kuwait.

The opening activities of the cultural week consisted of two parts: a photo exhibition and an evening cultural performance. In the afternoon, Jiang Xufan, Deputy Secretary of the BFSU Committee of the Communist Party of China, met with Mohammad Saleh Althuwaikh, Kuwaiti Ambassador to China. Afterward, the two appreciated a photo exhibition about Kuwait at the big auditorium of the university.

Following visiting the exhibition, they watched a special performance named Kuwait Cultural Night in the auditorium that evening. It was given by artists from the Kuwaiti Television Troupe and students from the Arabic Department of BFSU.

In the auditorium, drumbeats and beautiful melodies of Arab folk music flew in the air. The performers included both Middle East artists and Chinese students. Despite the different looks, they took the stage in the same traditional Arab costumes. Boys wore gowns and scarves; girls decorated themselves with shining jewelry. They looked like people walking out of grand festive celebrations.

They gave an enthusiastic performance with a high artistic level and unique Arab features. Their performance made the night a veritable night of Kuwaiti songs and dances for an international audience of over 1,000 people.

The students of BFSU sang songs including Great Kuwait and My Motherland Kuwait in Arabic. Also, they performed traditional Kuwaiti dances, which enthralled both the Chinese audience and Kuwaiti guests.

These activities enabled the Chinese students to get a more intuitive feeling about the unique charm of Kuwaiti culture. On the other hand, they also showed the Arab guests from afar the good quality, extraordinary talent and unlimited potential of teachers and students committed to Arab studies in China.

ARABIC CHARM: Artists from the Kuwaiti Television Troupe give an excellent performance at the auditorium of BFSU on April 14 (ZHANG LIPING)

The Kuwaiti Cultural Week was part of the celebrations in Beijing for the 40th anniversary of China-Kuwait diplomatic relations. In 1971, China officially established diplomatic ties with Kuwait. And Kuwait became the first country in the Gulf region to establish diplomatic ties with China. Over the past 40 years, Kuwait has always stuck to the one-China policy and respected China's sovereignty and territorial integrity.