Special Supplement: Friendship blossoms between Sichuan and Georgia

After finishing their performance in Luodai, an ancient town of about 20,000 Hakka people in the Longquanyi district of Chengdu, capital of Sichuan province, a troupe of American performers passed a square where they saw 2,000 local residents dancing to keep fit.

"The American performers were moved by the peaceful lifestyle of the locals and got off their bus to mingle with them, singing and dancing," Liu Bin, an information officer in the Longquanyi district, told China Daily.

Only 18 km east of the city, Luodai is a Hakka town of unique historical and cultural interest. The Hakkas are a branch of the Han Chinese. From north and central China, Hakka people first moved to south China's Guangdong province and east China's Fujian province to escape persecution and their name reflects their past - Hakka means "guests." Today their communities are scattered across southeast Asia.