The Confucius Institute at the University of the West Indies, Mona, will host a visiting arts troupe from the Beijing Language and Culture University (BLCU) from March 13 – 17, 2011. This troupe includes famous Chinese Film Director, Mr. Xie Fei, Vice-President of the BLCU, Mr. Huo Mingjie, Ms. Wang Yang, an accomplished Chinese painter, as well as Mr. Wang Yuechuan, a Chinese calligrapher.

The tour begins with a public exhibition of paintings on March 14 at 10 am at the Main Library, UWI, Mona. Immediately following the opening, Mr. Wang Yuechuan will demonstrate his calligraphy skills. The BLCU Arts Troupe will have two performances at the Philip Sherlock Centre for the Creative Arts (PSCCA), UWI, Mona on March 14-15 at 7 pm nightly.

The highlight of the Troupe’s visit will be Rhythmic Colours of China under the patronage of the Most Hon. P.J. Patterson, former Prime Minister of Jamaica. This event takes place on Wednesday, March 16, 2011 at 6:30 pm at the Courtleigh Auditorium. The event features a multi-layered act inclusive of song, dance, music and film. Renowned Chinese Film Director, Mr. Xie Fei will showcase his multi-award winning work ‘A Girl from Hunan’ (Xiang Nu Xiao Xiao).  ‘A Girl from Hunan’ is a wide screen colour feature film from the mid-80s. It won the Don Quixote award at the San Sebastian Film Festival, Spain 1988, the Golden Panda award, Montpellier Film Festival, France 1988, the Humanitarian Award, China 1993. It was also premiered at the Cannes International Film Festival in 1987, as was shown at the Hong Kong, Tokyo and Montreal Film Festivals between1987–1990. The film is based on a 1929 short story, Xiao Xiao (or Hsiao Hsiao), by author Shen Congwen. ‘A Girl from Hunan’ is a love story about a willful young girl (initially played by Lin Qing and played as an adult by Na Renhua) and the vicissitudes she endures with being married to a man many years her junior.

This visit of the troupe is in keeping with the mandate of the Confucius Institute to promote Chinese Language and culture, and support local Chinese Language teaching. The Confucius Institute at Mona is the first of its kind in the English-speaking Caribbean, and is part of an initiative to strengthen educational cooperation between China and Jamaica. It also seeks to support and promote the development of Chinese Language education, and increase mutual understanding among people in China and in Jamaica. The Confucius Institute was established in 2009 at Mona and is one of more than 300 such worldwide, developed in collaboration with Hanban in Beijing, a branch of the Chinese Ministry of Education.

The Confucius Institute at UWI, Mona offers short courses in Chinese language (Mandarin), Tai Chi and Chinese Calligraphy. In addition interpretation and translation services are provided by the Confucius Institute. The Institute operates in partnership with the Taiyuan University of Technology in China.