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Singers from the Dimen Dong Folk Chorus from southwest China's Guizhou province perform on Wednesday morning at the opening ceremony of the 2014 Smithsonian Folklife Festival on the National Mall in Washington. The festival this year features the nations of China and Kenya. [Chen Weihua/China Daily]
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Michael Atwood Mason, director of the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, said this year's festival will present a cultural dialogue on the diverse cultures of China and Kenya through words, food, stories, songs and work.
"We want to make sure that culture DNA of the past does not just survive today, but flourish and hopefully make a better tomorrow," said Richard Kurin, under-secretary for history, art and culture at the Smithsonian.
Lu Kang, deputy chief of mission of the Chinese embassy in Washington said China has made great efforts in recent years to protect its intangible art and cultural heritage, but he said there are also challenges.
"We live in a global village. We need to learn from each other and better understand each other," he said.
Sun Yanling, a Manchu embroidery artist from northeast China's Heilongjiang province, was one of the many Chinese folk artists demonstrating in a nearby tent. She said the Bohai Mohe silk embroidery has a unique triangular stitch style.
"It's the oil painting of embroidery, the further you look at it, the more beautiful it is," she said.
She hoped that visitors will get to discover this culture in China.
With a theme of China: Tradition and the Art of Living, the Chinese program features 120 participants, including artists, dancers, craftspeople and cooks.
Two themes, reunion and balance, highlight the importance of seasonal festival traditions in China.
Along with Chinese silk embroidery artists, Chinese craftspeople will also make paper-cutting designs, New Year's prints, clay figurines, kites and sachets that are used during annual celebrations. Visitors can also see artists who specialize in patchwork, batiks and porcelain.
Visitors to the festival, which is scheduled from June 25 to 29 and then July 2 to 6 and free to the public, could also experience the exuberance of public life in China when they visit the "People's Park" area of the program. Participants will demonstrate and teach the flower drum lantern dance, tai chi and water calligraphy.
There will also be food demonstration at the Five Spices Kitchen with chefs flying in from China. But due to food licensing issues, visitors won't be able to sample the savory food, but will instead go to a nearby food tent for food provided by local Chinese restaurants.
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