Chinese culture and history were on display at the Chinese Spring Festival Temple Fair at the Anchorage, Chaguaramas on Saturday. The event was part of the celebration of the Chinese New Year and also coincided with the Lantern Festival.
Known as the Year of the Dragon, 2024 also marks the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Trinidad and Tobago and China.
Acting Foreign Affairs Minister Paula Gopee-Scoon said Chinese culture entered the melting pot of TT when the Fortitude arrived in Trinidad in 1806, bringing the first Chinese migrants.
“They not only travelled with their worldly possessions but also their values, beliefs and customs. Chinese culture has blended into the country’s diverse cultural landscape while retaining its own unique flavour.”
She said the event is the latest of a series of cultural exchanges between the two countries.
“TT has benefitted from training in Mandarin offered via the Confucius Institute and the Centre for Language Learning, UWI. Within the last year, the Chinese Embassy and the Chinese Association have collaborated to offer a culture and language exchange programme to the police service.
“TT has also impacted the Chinese cultural landscape as the late Madame Dai Ailan, born and raised in south Trinidad, is regarded as the mother of Chinese dance for her choreography and performance of dance across China, and for her leadership of pioneering dance institutions.
[caption id="attachment_1065915" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Fang Qiu, Chinese ambassador to TT. - ROGER JACOB[/caption]
“The steelpan, our national instrument enthralled Chinese audiences when they heard its pulsating sounds during tours by our best steelbands.”
Gopee-Scoon said the respective governments are working on broadening economic partnerships in 2024. She said as Trade and Industry Minister, last month she addressed the opening of the Phoenix Park Industrial Estate, the first of its kind in the Caribbean under the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative.
“In 2023, the TT Fine Cocoa Company started the sale of Trinitario chocolate in China, in partnership with a Chinese distributor. By the end of last year, four tonnes of this locally made product had been exported to China, with a further 12 tonnes to be shipped in 2024.
“We have partnered with China for the establishment of the new Forensic Sciences Centre, which will enhance our responsiveness to the ongoing crime challenge. Chinese companies are also involved in other major infrastructural projects such as the new terminal of the ANR Robinson International Airport and the recently completed Diego Martin Highway.”
She said she expected further expansion in the cooperative activities undertaken by the countries, and said culture has and will continue to create the strongest bond between them.
Chinese Ambassador Fang Qiu thanked the Chinese community in TT for making the temple fair possible, as well as contributing immensely to TT’s social and economic development and the friendly exchanges between both nations.
“Your effort
