KATHMANDU, Nov 15: Highlighting the 8th China Festival in Nepal, the two-day Ballet Gala concluded at Amy Officers’ Club, Bhadrakali on Wednesday.

The gala was organized by National Ballet of China, and jointly hosted by Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the People’s Republic of China, Ministry of Culture, Tourism & Civil Aviation, Nepal and Embassy of China in Nepal. National Ballet of China also performed at the event.

Ballets were directed by Feng Ying, and the stage production was done by The Stage Production Department of National Ballet of China. Various ballets such as excerpts from Pas de Quatre, Swan Lake Act II, Variations for Four were shown. Wang Jiabao, Xu Ziyu, Ning Long, Bian Chentang and other performers performed at the two-day gala.

Yu Hong, China’s ambassador to Nepal, welcomed guests at the event. Speaking at an inauguration, she said that event like Ballet Gala has been organized to maintain the friendship between neighboring countries. She said, “The relation between Nepal and China has always been close and we must try to maintain this friendship go forever.” She further added that the ballets of that event had shown the tradition of China.

Rabindra Adhikari, Minister for Culture, Tourism & Civil Aviation of Nepal, said that China has helped a lot for the tourism in Nepal. He said, “Nepal and China have been linked traditionally, historically and commercially. Tourists from China have increased from ten thousand a year to over hundred thousand a year. As our look forward to having 2 million tourists annually by 2020, China has helped a lot to make our goal successful.” He further added, “Event like this is helpful for tourism development and both countries can be equally benefitted.”