A banquet welcoming the University of British Columbia delegation, celebrating the 30th anniversary of the Guangdong-British Columbia sister province relationship. (Photo: Liang Zijian/GDToday)
A celebratory banquet highlighting the ties between Guangdong, China's largest provincial economy, and Canada's Province of British Columbia (B.C.) was held on May 6 at the historic White Swan Hotel in Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong Province.
The event marked both the 30th anniversary of the sister province relationship between Guangdong and B.C., and the 40th anniversary of the sister city bond between Guangzhou and Vancouver.
Attended by government officials and university representatives, the banquet emphasized culture and education as enduring pillars of cooperation between the two provinces. A focal point was the upcoming joint performance of Thunderstorm, a Mandarin-language opera to be staged by the University of British Columbia (UBC) and Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou and Zhuhai on May 8 and 9.
The performance is part of UBC's month-long China tour that began on April 30 and includes stops in Harbin, Chengdu, Nanjing, and Beijing, among other cities.
"Culture is the soul of a nation and a bridge that connects hearts across the world," said Li Hongzhi, deputy director-general of Guangdong's Foreign Affairs Office. He praised the joint performance as not only a youth exchange but also a chance for mutual learning between civilizations, expressing hope that it would deepen connections and strengthen friendships.
The production, composed by Canadian artists Tang Kangnian and Emily Pan, is based on Cao Yu's 1934 play—a modern classic of Chinese drama set against the emotional storm within a wealthy family in 1920s China.
Nancy Hermiston, chair of UBC School of Music's Voice and Opera Divisions, described the experience as "a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity" for students to immerse themselves in Chinese culture while performing a Chinese story, in Mandarin, on Chinese stages.
For many cast members, it is their first time in China. Christina Demeo, who plays the character Fan Yi, called the tour "a wild and wonderful experience" in an interview with GDToday. "Everyone has been so kind and welcoming. The concert halls are stunning, and the architecture here is simply gorgeous," she said.
Demeo admitted her understanding of Chinese culture had been minimal before joining the production but has deepened through both the opera's historical themes and daily immersion during the tour.
UBC's long-standing partnership with Sun Yat-sen University dates back to 1981 and has expanded from medical training and academic exchanges into the arts. Yu Zhantao, deputy director of International Cooperation and Exchanges at Sun Yat-sen University, said the current tour reflects the evolving nature of the partnership and growing interest in cross-cultural education.
Vickie Zhang, president of the Multicultural Volunteers Foundation of Canada, called the Thunderstorm China tour "a cultural homecoming" and praised Guangzhou's openness as resonant with Canada's multicultural ethos. "We hope to build bridges that allow the friendship between China and Canada to flow like the Pearl River—endlessly," she said.
Reported by: Liu Xiaodi
Photo: Liang Zijian
Edited by: Yuan Zixiang, James, Shen He
