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Chen Wenli also works as a model for an advertising company. [Photo by Hou Shiping/For China Daily] |
When one member, Wen Jie, contracted lung cancer, all the troupe members came to her help encouraging her to continue to participate in dancing activities and even perform on stage. With all the troupe's activities including traveling to scenic spots diverting her attention from her illness and keeping her in high spirits, Wen lived for five years, three more than the doctor had initially predicted.
The troupe visited Taiwan in 2015, 2016 and 2018 to stage performances there. They also participated in performances in rural areas, which Chen and her members consider as a social responsibility. Her troupe has also staged performances at a number of nursing homes.
The troupe has won more than 30 prizes including a national dancing competition.
Many of the troupe have obtained certificates of model instructors and dancing teachers, which mean they can teach dance.
Chen is often invited to give lectures to senior residents about modeling or dance.
Organizing shows, bringing in new members as some dancers retire, arranging costumes and generally being there for everyone can be time consuming but the rewards are apparent.
Energy-consuming as her work is, Chen feels a sense of gratitude as her troupe is ranked as one the nation's best.
Chen believes that how one looks at oneself is more important than how others look at you. What her troupe members have done in the past more than a decade, psychologically speaking, is to convince themselves that they can conquer the perceptions of others.
"Don't call us 'grandma', call us 'goddess'" is the motto Chen uses to encourage her troupe members, whom she usually addresses as "elder sisters".
Apart from contributing to society, Chen considers what they do as a way to break the traditional impression of what senior women in their 60s or even 70s are supposed to be.
When many told her that they do not look like as old as they actually are, Chen believes that they have succeeded in transcending both the physical and psychological.
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The 15th Chinese Film Festival in Bangkok and the 2020 China-Thailand Film Exchange Week opens at the China Cultural Center in Bangkok on Oct 25, 2020. [Photo provided to Chinaculture.org] |
On Oct 25, the opening ceremony of the 15th Chinese Film Festival in Bangkok and the 2020 China-Thailand Film Exchange Week was held at the China Cultural Center in Bangkok. The event was hosted by the China Cultural Center in Bangkok and received strong support from the Chinese Embassy in Thailand and the Thai Ministry of Culture.
The COVID-19 pandemic doesn't impede the enthusiasm for cultural exchange between China and Thailand. This film festival uses live broadcast to present the opening ceremony and host the "China-Thailand Film Exchange and Cooperation Online Seminar". During the film festival, audiences can use the online platform of the China Cultural Center in Bangkok to watch films online, which greatly increases the global reach of the festival.
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Gu Hongxing, director of the China Cultural Center in Bangkok and China Tourism Office in Bangkok, speaks at the opening ceremony. [Photo provided to Chinaculture.org] |
Gu Hongxing, director of Bangkok's China Cultural Center and China Tourism Office, said film can not only introduce one's national culture, but also reflect unique social landscapes. Film has become an important part of cultural exchange between countries and enhance mutual understanding among people around the world.
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Yang Xin, Chargé d'affaires of the Chinese Embassy in Thailand, speaks at the opening ceremony. [Photo provided to Chinaculture.org] |
Yang Xin, Chargé d'affaires of the Chinese Embassy in Thailand, said since the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Thailand 45 years ago, the mutual trust between the two countries has continued to deepen, economic and trade cooperation has expanded, cultural exchanges have become closer, and all-around cooperation has achieved fruitful results. Both China and Thailand have a vast film market. As a traditional project of cultural exchanges between China and Thailand, the Bangkok Chinese Film Festival has laid a solid foundation for film cooperation between the two countries for 15 years and will add new drive to the promotion of cultural exchanges and cooperation between China and Thailand.
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Itthiphol Kunplome, Thailand's minister of culture, speaks at the opening ceremony. [Photo provided to Chinaculture.org] |
Thailand's Minister of Culture Itthiphol Kunplome said in his speech the governments and people of Thailand and China have been in constant exchange. Cooperation in various fields has developed steadily, and the film festival is another important event to further promote cultural exchanges between the two countries. The people of the two countries can promote their understanding of the cultures of both sides through films, and promote friendly relations and cooperation in other perspectives.
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