28 March 2014 – The Philippines announces its participation in the 4th Nanyang Culture Festival to be held in Xiamen from March 28 to April 4. This participation is made possible through the efforts of the Philippine Consulate General in Xiamen, the National Commission for Culture and the Arts, the Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions, as well as Philippine Airlines.
“Nanyang” is a Chinese term broadly referring to the region presently known as Southeast Asia. It was also used as the name for the first Southeast Asia Culture Festival held in Xiamen in May 2008, which was organized by the three resident Consulates General in Xiamen, that of the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. The biennial Festival has now grown in scale and now involves the participation of all 10 ASEAN countries with the full support of the Xiamen Municipal Foreign Affairs Office.
The 4th Nanyang Culture Festival will formally open on March 28 at the Jinrong Theater-Little Egret Arts Center.
There will be a Nanyang Trade Fair from March 29 to 31 along the Xiamen’s Zhongshan Pedestrian Shopping Street. Filipino companies will join other Southeast Asian businesses to promote their unique products.
Also at Zhongshan Street, there will be Cultural Performances by artists from various Southeast Asian countries. The Philippines’ very own Sining Kumintang ng Batangas, the Official Cultural Performing Group of the Province of Batangas, will showcase Philippines’ world-class talents through performances along Zhongshan Street.
Part of the Nanyang Festival is a weeklong Filipino Food Festival to be held at Yeohwa Hotel from March 29 to April 4. To capture the authentic flavors of Filipino cuisine, the Consulate General invited Chef Anthony Artemio L. Abad, Executive Chef of Vikings: Luxury Buffet Restaurant, to support this endeavor by providing his expertise. The Sining Kumintang ng Batangas will be performing during lunch and dinner for the duration of the Filipino Food Festival at Yeohwa Hotel.
An Academic Symposium will be held in the afternoon of April 29 at the Science and Arts Center of Xiamen University. Prominent Filipino diplomat and academician, former Ambassador Wilfrido V. Villacorta will join other representatives from Southeast Asia and China to discuss the future of ASEAN-China cooperation. END