On 2 February 2018, the Beijing One Belt and One Road Cultural Tour (BOBORCT) jointly organized by China People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC) and Association for Philippines-China Understanding (APCU), and co-organized by Beijing People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (BPAFFC), Xicheng District People’s Government of Beijing Municipality and ASEAN-China Centre (ACC), were held in SM Business Center, Clark city of the Philippines. Attended the event were Mr. Lin Yi, Vice President of CPAFFC, Mr. Sun Xueqing, Director-General of Asian-African Affairs Department of CPAFFC, Mr. Li Meng, Vice President of BPAFFC, Mr. Li Yi, Deputy District Mayor of Xicheng District People’s Government of Beijing Municipality, Ms. Yu Zhou, Deputy Secretary-General of BPAFFC, Ms. Cherry D. Manalo, Chairperson on the Tourism of Pampanga Province, Mr. Gabriel Lopez, Board Member and President of APCU, Ms. Herminia Pamintuan, First Lady of Clark City, and Ms. Zhang Liwei, representative of ACC, and representatives from APCU, local citizens and reporters, totaling around 400 people.
Ms. Lin Yi in her speech expressed appreciation for the active cooperation of the Philippine partners in the event and stated that she was very pleased to introduce Chinese festival culture to Clark people, share holiday happiness and enhance the mutual understanding and friendship through the performance of BOBORCT delegation on the occasion of coming Spring Festival. Ms. Cherry D. Manalo, on behalf of the people of Pampanga province, welcomed the visit of the delegation. She cited that the Philippines’ friendly ties with China have remained steadfast over the years, and the special bond of friendship should be sustained for mutual benefits. She hoped that two sides could work together to promote exchanges and cooperation and wished the delegation a happy and memorable trip to the Philippines.
Chinese artists presented the intangible cultural heritage performances to the local audience including acrobatics, traditional magic, Kunqu Opera, vocal imitation and Chinese tea art. The SM Business Center plaza was brimmed with happy laughter and applauses. Each intangible cultural heritage presentation booth was crowded with audiences. The artists were enthusiastic to demonstrate and the people competed to interact with the artists in a warm atmosphere.
The representatives from Information Office of Clark City, and the reporters of local media including Business Mirror, ABC-CBN TV station were present to cover the event. ACC representative interacted with the Philippine participants and media. After the performance, Ms. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, Chairman of APCU, met with the delegation. She welcomed the visit of the delegation, and looked forward to the cooperation with China in more and wider fields to promote the Philippines-China friendship.
In the afternoon, the delegation visited the Kapampangan Museum of Holy Angel University and interacted with the museum staff.