An acrobatic performance by the Shandong Acrobatic Troupe was the main highlight of the closing ceremony of the "Year of China" in South Africa. President Xi Jinping, his wife Peng Liyuan, South African President Jacob Zuma and his wife watched the performance.

The performance, held in Johannesburg on Dec 4, featured traditional Chinese drum dance, which has more than 2,000 years of history.

The Shandong Acrobatic Troupe traveled to South Africa as part of the Chinese delegation that accompanied President Xi Jinping who attended the Johannesburg Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation held in Johannesburg on Dec 4. The occasion made the Shandong group become China's first acrobatic troupe to follow a President on a foreign visit.

The "Year of China" was launched at the State Theatre in Pretoria, South Africa, on March 15, to promote friendship and cooperation through cultural exchanges between China and South Africa.

Shandong province, the hometown of Confucius and Mencius, makes continuous efforts to inherit and maintain traditional Chinese arts, including acrobatics and dramas.

Edited by Mevlut Katik

Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan attend the closing ceremony of the Year of China in South Africa, Dec 4. [Photo/Xinhua]