COTONOU, Sept. 23 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese Cultural Center in Benin's Cotonou and the Confucius Institute of the University of Abomey-Calavi celebrated the traditional Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival Tuesday evening in Cotonou.
Held under the theme "Under the Same Moon: A Mid-Autumn Poetry Gathering," the event brought together more than 100 people, including Chinese nationals residing in Cotonou, staff members of the Chinese Embassy in Benin and the Chinese Cultural Center, students from the Confucius Institute, diplomats accredited to Benin, and Beninese people interested in Chinese culture.
Through a poetry performance accompanied by music and presented in Fon and Mandarin, students from the Confucius Institute showcased the richness of Chinese culture, including traditions, symbols, stories, and ancestral practices passed down from generation to generation.
"The Mid-Autumn Festival is one of the major traditional Chinese festivals. Every year, on the 15th day of the eighth month of the lunar calendar, families gather to admire the moon, enjoy mooncakes and express their feelings through poetry," said Shen Si, charge d'affaires a.i. and minister counselor at the Chinese Embassy in Benin.
Carole Borna, representative of Benin's Minister of Culture, Arts and Heritage, said the celebration demonstrated that despite the distances separating families and peoples, shared values brought them closer together.
"Cooperation between Benin and China is not limited to the economic and institutional fields. It is also built through cultural, artistic and heritage exchanges, which enable our two peoples to better understand each other and strengthen their friendship," she said, adding that the Mid-Autumn Festival embodies universal values of transmission, heritage, sharing and dialogue among peoples. ■
