so, I'm back home safe and sound after my trip to China. I've caught up on my sleep and overcome the jetlag and am now ready to write a little about it...
it was soooo ace!! literally could not have been better!
our first 7days were spent being escorted around Wuhan City by government officials, eating lots of amazing food in many great restaurants, visiting many tourist attractions such as moon lake and the yellow crane tower, and meeting lots of lovely people. our last 2days were spent traveling to beijing and going up and down the Great Wall! fun times!
The opening day of the exhibition welcomed around 250 people, and began with a collection of speeches from a variety of people, including government leaders of Wuhan, the exhibition organisers and the one and only Luke Waller! people were invited to paint a mural of the city whilst interviews were held for Chinese TV and radio. The exhibition itself was a mixture of english and chinese art, and ranged from traditional paintings, to sculpture, modern illustration and graphic design. It was a great success, to say the least! the work stayed on show for 4 days and in that time around 20,000 people came to see it!
The art exhibition was not the only contribution the english made towards the Yangste river spring arts festival, The Demon Barber Roadshow laid on a spectacular performance of traditional Folk music, with clog, rapper and morris dancing! not only was their show lively and energetic ... but they are THE loveliest people ever!! along side 'the Demons' on stage were a selection of chinese performers who were of course, amazing. some fantastic examples of traditional chinese music and dance that were beautifully performed, some by dancers aged only 12! i was far too clumsy when i was twelve to be doing any sort of elegant dancing! amazing!
all in all it was a fantastic, once in a lifetime experience that i am so pleased i could be a part of! i'd just like to say a huge great big thank you to everyone who attended the Yangste River Spring Arts Festival, and all who helped out to make it possible! and also a special thank you to our lovely new friends we made along the way - our super lovely translator Emma, fab tour guide Cherri, Bobby Chow, Little John, Lily, Derek our bus driver, and of course the demon barbers! you made the trip unforgettable! xx
