A song captures the spirit of the event. [Photo provided to enquanzhou.com]

The opening ceremony showcases an opera performance. [Photo provided to enquanzhou.com]

This program is full of classical beauty. [Photo provided to enquanzhou.com]

Fireworks of East and West Pagodas explode. [Photo provided to enquanzhou.com]

The opening ceremony of the fifth Maritime Silk Road International Arts Festival was held in the Straits Sports Center of Quanzhou, Quanzhou, Fujian province, on the evening of Dec 8, highlighting the spirit of appreciating the beauty of diverse civilizations.

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiative. Through this cultural feast, Quanzhou announced the spirit of peace and cooperation, openness and inclusiveness, mutual learning and mutual benefit the Silk Road carries is still passing the torch.

The performance was full of showstoppers.

There were 10 ingenious drama strings in the performance. Ren Luyu, the host of the event, talked with historical figures closely related to Haisi Quanzhou, such as Marco Polo, Li Zhi, Zheng He, and more.

Featuring songs and dances, artists from Thailand, South Korea, Japan, Russia, and Africa demonstrated that under the backdrop of BRI, mutual understanding and win-win cooperation were continuously enhanced.

As the only opera program of the opening ceremony, Old Rhyme and New Tone featured nearly 200 participants and a collection of Quanzhou characteristic opera elements such as Liyuan opera, Gaojia opera, Puppet show, Dacheng Opera, and Nanyin.

"The Quanzhou elements shone throughout the performance, which made me understand more about Quanzhou's cultural origins and development history, fully demonstrating Quanzhou's cultural confidence." H.E. HENG Sarith, Cambodia's ambassador to ASEAN, said.