Cross Cultural Connection

　　Fu Daizhi, a 56-year-old from Nanjing City,Jiangsu Province, enjoys traveling to broaden her mind.But helping her son pay off his mortgage and not beingas energetic as she was in her youth, means Fu is oftenlimited in the type of trips she can take, and one of Fu’sdream destinations, the African continent, has longbeen out of reach.

　　The second Nigerian Culture Week held in Nanjingfrom October 15 to 18 presented Fu with an idealopportunity to experience authentic African culture,without the need to travel thousands of miles awayfrom home.

　　“This is the first time I personally watched the rhythmic,joyous African dance, saw the exquisite Africanart crafts and tasted authentic Dodo or fried plantainslices, nuts and beverages. Everything is so amazing,”Fu told ChinAfrica.

　　The Nigerian Culture Week held by the Ministry ofCulture, Tourism and National Orientation of Nigeria,sponsored by China’s Ministry of Culture and NanjingMunicipal Government, is a reflection of deepeningcultural exchanges between China and Nigeria.

　　Deeper involvement

　　With the deepening of China-Africa strategic partnership,cultural exchanges have expanded to local governmentinvolving ordinary people in the process.

　　“From the young African woman who appeared on aChinese TV dating show Feicheng Wurao (If You are theOne), to Chinese TV dramas like A Beautiful Daughterin-law Era and Beijing Love Story translated into Swahiliand Hausa and aired on African TV, cultural exchangesbetween China and Africa are on the increase,” saidSong Yanqun, Director of African Affairs of the Bureaufor External Cultural Relations with China’s Ministry ofCulture.

　　Edem Duke, Minister of Culture, Tourism and NationalOrientation of Nigeria, sees culture as the most definitiveelements of any people. “Technology will comeand go, but culture is the vibrant essence that weavespeople together,” Duke said during the cultural week.

　　The past two years have witnessed a boom incultural exchanges between China and Nigeria. In May2012, Nigeria became the first African nation to set upa culture center in China. Reciprocally Zhang Dejiang,Chairman of the Standing Committee of the NationalPeople’s Congress, China’s top legislature, presidedover the opening ceremony of the Chinese culturecenter in Nigeria in September 2013. In October, agroup of experts from Nanjing Museum traveled toLagos to train Nigerians on the preservation andrestoration of cultural relics, while Nigeria’s Ministerof Culture, Tourism and National Orientation led aculture delegation of 112 people to Nanjing, presentingauthentic Nigerian culture to ordinary Chinese.

　　In Duke’s eyes, it is not so much the desire forbilateral political relevance and economic benefit, butculture that brings the two nations close together. “Culturalbeliefs are the building blocks for the relationshipof our two nations,” said Duke, adding that ordinarypeople see and feel the culture first, and this expressioncan be used as a tool of development by governmentleaders.

　　As for exchanges in training, “we have learnedand gained knowledge and skills,” Rosemary Bodam,Deputy Director of Museums National Commission forMuseums and Monuments of Nigeria, told ChinAfrica.

　　Chinese people also get to know about Nigeria fromevents like the culture week. “We have an exhibition toportray every aspect of our culture,” Keshi EkundayoQueenolia, a cultural official for the Nigerian delegation,told ChinAfrica during the Nigerian Culture Week. “Wehope the event will give Chinese a chance to experienceNigeria without leaving China.” Queenolia invitesmore visitors to her country to experience the vitalityof the culture through using the culture week as aspringboard of understanding.

　　In the future, Duke hopes there will be more performingtroupes from both countries giving reciprocalperformances. He invites Chinese artists to come toAbuja and attend the carnival celebrating the 100thanniversary of the founding of Nigeria next year.

　　Culture attraction

　　Both China and Nigeria see the culture industry asa new frontier of economic growth. Duke said the NigerianGovernment sees the tourism, culture and creativesectors as important for the economic diversificationof Nigeria.

　　He hopes Chinese investors learned more aboutNigeria through the platform of the Culture Week andwill invest in the culture industry. As the largest marketin Africa, Duke is confident in the lucrative prospectof investing in his nation. “For a country of 117 millionpeople, one attribute of Nigeria is that they spend a lotof money,” he said. “They need places to enjoy recreationand they need places to go shopping,” he added,noting that Nigeria is underserviced in the areas ofhotel development, hospitality development, conferencing,destinations and shopping malls.

　　Besides the hospitality sector, there is also hugepotential for cooperation in the industries of film,fashion and theater, said Duke. “We would like to workwith Chinese partners to establish a duty-free zone forthe culture industry and cooperate in terms of qualitycontrol, the ability for mass production as well as antiprivacyright,” said Duke. “Through the cooperation, Ihope Chinese companies will be the benchmark of thegrowth of the culture industry,” added Duke.