Art exchange brings Macau children closer to mainland

Once the plane touched down, Ngan Chin Hong, 65, wasted no time in taking the art group straight to a children’s art center in Tianjin, northern China, where she reunited with many old friends. Ngan, the chairperson of the Macao Children Arts Troupe, led two teams from Macau in participating in the five-day 2024 Tianjin International Children’s Art Festival (TICAF), which concluded on Friday.

It is the 11th time they have participated in the event. “The children were eager to sign up, and we selected the best of the best, finally settling on 40 people from the art group of over 700 to rehearse new songs and dances,” she said. On stage, the children took on the roles of little birds, sharing the story of Macau’s efforts to protect its ecological environment and endangered species.

They also performed a variety of songs and dances to highlight the vibrant scenes of Macau since its return to the motherland in 1999. Team member Wong Hio Wai has made many new friends and swapped WeChat account details for future contacts.

“I have seen many performances by children from the Chinese mainland and abroad, and I have benefited a lot,” said the 12-year-old.

Ngan believes that, through the festival, children from Macau can start a journey of friendship and heart-to-heart interaction, promoting in-depth exchanges of artistic achievement between the two places, as well as appreciating the mainland’s development.

Ngan said their artistic exchanges with the Chinese mainland started in the 1980s, when many Chinese mainland artists came to Macau, injecting momentum into the development of local arts and culture. In 1998, children’s art troupes from Beijing, Tianjin, Yunnan, Guangdong and Jilin were invited to Macau to perform. In the same year, Ngan took members, including the singer Long Chi Lam, to attend the first edition of the TICAF.

“Many team members got more opportunities by attending this art festival. Long was later invited to the Spring Festival Gala and became well-known on the Chinese mainland,” Ngan said. Many former members of the troupe still maintain close connections with the mainland. Some of them have grown up, entered famous Chinese mainland schools and excelled in their respective fields, according to Ngan. During their trip, the Macau children also climbed the Great Wall, tasted Tianjin delicacies and learned how to make lacquer fans and fragrant sachets. “The experiences are novel and unforgettable,” said Lei Chong Ian, a 12-year-old team member, who hopes to participate in the event again next time. Xinhua