Chinese, Scottish artists stage "homegrown" Spring Festival gala in Edinburgh

Edinburgh, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Chinese and Scottish artists joined hands on Sunday to celebrate the Chinese Lunar New Year with a sparkling variety of modern and traditional cultural performances in Edinburgh.

More than 200 performers, most of whom are overseas Chinese living in Scotland, performed on the Chinese New Year's Eve in a two-hour gala in Assembly Rooms in central Edinburgh.

The program, comprising classical folk music, dances, martial arts, choirs, cross talks, and other live music, blended both Chinese and Scottish cultural elements with many performances delivered bilingually for an audience of 700 people. Dozens of Scottish children and artists also performed in the program.

The event is organized by Scotland Chinese Community Organizations, with support from the Bank of China and the Chinese Consulate-General in Edinburgh.

The Edinburgh Chinese Culture Association led the preparations for the event, with assistance from over 40 volunteers and families from local Chinese community in Scotland.

Organizers said the gala was the first large-scale Spring Festival cultural event largely produced in Scotland, with overseas Chinese and Scottish artists as the main performers.

Fiona Hyslop, Cabinet Secretary for Culture, Europe and External Affairs in the Scottish government, said the Scottish-Chinese relations have been very successful in the last couple of months, highlighted by Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon's visit to China last year.

"It's extremely important that we understand and share our wonderful cultures with each other," she said in opening remarks prior to the performances.

She added that there has been a real momentum in Scotland-China ties, and Scotland played a key role in celebrating the UK-China Year of Culture in 2015.