The 2026 Duisburg China Festival commenced on Friday afternoon in Duisburg, Germany, bringing together representatives from Chinese and German cities to foster bilateral relations. The three-day event features cultural booths and interactive zones showcasing traditional Chinese cuisine, culture, and contemporary art.
A highlight of the festival was the opening gala on Friday evening, performed by nearly 40 artists from Wuhan, the capital of central China's Hubei Province. The performance included over a dozen programs spanning Peking opera, Hanju opera, Chuju opera, acrobatics, and ethnic song and dance, offering a rich tapestry of Chinese performing arts.
Chang Haitao, acting consul general of the Chinese Consulate General in Dusseldorf, described the festival as a vivid expression of exchange between China and Germany, allowing Germans to experience and understand China up close. The event underscores the deep-rooted connection between the two nations, which began with the sister-city relationship between Duisburg and Wuhan in 1982—the first such partnership between Germany and China. Since then, the two cities have maintained close people-to-people and economic exchanges, forging a lasting bond.
Duisburg Mayor Soeren Link, impressed by the performance, remarked that the opening gala was unforgettable for its standard, quality, richness, and the many different facets it presented. He emphasized that Duisburg values its sister-city relationship with Wuhan and hopes to continue strengthening German-Chinese friendship and dialogue.
Markus Teuber, commissioner for China affairs at the Mayor's Office of Duisburg, noted that the array of theatrical, song, and dance performances offered German audiences an excellent window into Chinese culture. He expressed hope for deeper cultural exchange between the two cities in the future.
For Yang Jing, deputy director of the Wuhan Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism, Wuhan's presence at the festival marks an important step in Wuhan culture's global outreach. The Duisburg China Festival, an annual signature cultural event, injects fresh grassroots momentum into the development of German-Chinese friendship.
As the festival continues over the weekend, it serves as a platform for cultural dialogue and mutual understanding, reinforcing the ties that bind the two communities.
