Thousands of Umbrellas Like Clouds, Crowds Like Tides, St. Louis Chinese Culture Day Opens in the Rain

Photo Report  Phil Zhang  Ping  Xia Qiufeng  Zhiqiang Fan  video Liu Jing song

On May 3, the "Chinese Day" event was held at the Missouri Botanical Garden in St. Louis.

At 10 a.m., the giant dragon dance, a symbol of strength and auspiciousness, kicked off the event. Anna Xu, Director of the Missouri Department of Labor, Zhang Yiqi, Deputy Consul General of the Chinese Consulate General in Chicago, Neil Perryman, Chairman of the Nanjing Friendship City Committee, and Lucia Roman, Director of the Missouri Botanical Garden, attended and cut the ribbon. Zhu Yimin, Chairman of the 2025 Chinese Day, delivered a welcome speech.

It started to rain in an instant, and the audience held umbrellas and watched the performance in the rain.

St. Louis Chinese Day has been held for 29 years, with hundreds of community volunteers participating in the event every year. It aims to promote cultural exchanges between China and the United States and enhance the community's understanding and recognition of Chinese culture. Zhu Yimin was interviewed by our reporter (left in the picture), saying: "St. Louis is a very diverse community with many races and ethnicities. We bring different cultures and traditions. We build this beautiful community together. We need more love than hate; we need more friendship than hostility." "I hope that Chinese Day will become a festival for residents of all ethnic groups, so that Chinese culture can take root and blossom in central America, and residents and tourists can understand Chinese culture, strengthen understanding, and enhance friendship."

The scene was very lively.

Dragon dance and lion dance are very representative folk performing arts.

The dragon is the totem of the Chinese nation, and dragon dance symbolizes good weather and good harvests; sometimes it leaps up, sometimes it hovers, attracting the audience to stop and watch.

The lion dance symbolizes exorcism, warding off disasters, praying for blessings and good fortune, and represents bravery, agility and unity. One is red and the other is yellow, with bright eyes, shaking heads and tails, and the audience is curious and cheers.

The Hanfu show, led by Ren Lili, president of the St. Louis branch of the World Cheongsam Federation, added modern design elements to ancient Hanfu, improving the cuts and accessories to make it more suitable for contemporary aesthetics.

Accompanied by traditional music and recitation of ancient poems, the performers took the stage one by one, their sleeves fluttering, as if traveling through thousands of years. Showing the beauty of clothing, the elegant demeanor conveyed the spiritual connotation of Chinese etiquette

Tai Chi's movements are slow and powerful, precise and steady, showing the Eastern philosophy of "using softness to overcome hardness, using stillness to overcome motion".

The obvious difference between this year's Chinese Day and previous ones is that more people of other ethnic groups have become interested in Chinese culture and practiced authentic Tai Chi with their Chinese friends.

There was interaction between the stage and the audience, and some audience members couldn't help but follow the performance.

Artist Liu Sun painted live while Dr. Ma Xiaoyue explained Song Dynasty bird-and-flower works, showcasing the evolution of Chinese artistic traditions.

At the Chinese market and children's handicraft area, visitors can experience traditional crafts such as calligraphy and paper cutting, and learn to use chopsticks.

The arrival of the Changchun Nine-member Acrobatic Troupe and musicians from the friendly city of Nanjing became the highlight of the event, bringing diabolo, balancing pots, hula hoops and other programs and ancient traditional music. This is the first visit of a domestic art troupe after the epidemic. The dragon boat donated by Nanjing was also publicly displayed for the first time, adding a new cultural element to the event.