Art and culture have long served as a bridge between the Chinese and American people. This week, New Yorkers have the chance to experience that connection firsthand.
Building on a successful event held during the 2025 Summer for the City festival, Lincoln Center has expanded the celebration into Chinese Arts Week, running from Wednesday to Sunday. The weeklong festival showcases both China's rich cultural heritage and the vitality of its contemporary arts scene.
The lineup spans music, dance, film and cultural exchange. It opened with vibrant yingge and lion dance performances, followed by a high-energy fusion of kung fu and hip-hop.
Among the highlights is the North American premiere of The Ocean Etched in the Forest, in which Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Du Yun collaborates with Jino cultural heritage artists to reimagine the ancient oral traditions of the Jino ethnic group.
Shen Wei Dance Arts marks the 30th anniversary of its Lincoln Center debut with a special joint performance alongside the Guangdong Modern Dance Company.
Contemporary Chinese music is also in the spotlight, with performances by Hanggai, an eight-member Inner Mongolian folk ensemble, and Taiga, a Chinese electronic music duo.
The festival also features About Face: Disrupting Ballet, a feature-length documentary following former New York City Ballet soloist Georgina Pazcoguin and author, producer, and choreographer Phil Chan as they challenge long-standing Asian stereotypes in ballet through their Final Bow for Yellowface movement. The screening is co-hosted by the China Institute as part of the organization's centennial celebration.
"Together, these performances offer different windows into China: its traditions, its modern energy, and the creativity of its people. Through music, dance and shared experiences, we hope American friends will discover a China that is authentic, diverse and full of life," said Ma Xiaoxiao, deputy consul general of China in New York.
Ma said cultural exchanges between China and the United States have become increasingly two-way in recent years, with growing numbers of institutions and individuals visiting China for educational and cultural programs.
"The best way to understand a country is to see it, hear it and experience it for yourself. From the snowy north to the lush south, from the western deserts to the eastern coast, China is a land of remarkable beauty and variety," he said. "More importantly, the Chinese people, like the American people, are warm, kind and welcoming. We sincerely invite all of you to visit China, meet its people, experience its culture, and discover a country where ancient traditions coexist with cutting-edge technology."
Jessica Sgambelluri of the Jose Limon Dance Foundation recently returned from a trip to China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region. She said that watching traditional Chinese dance in New York after her visit to China made her realize how meaningful and informative cultural exchanges can be.
"Once we embrace each other's traditions, there's a natural sense of poetry, intelligence and thoughtfulness in the choreography," she said.
Deepa Liegel, who also traveled to China with the foundation on her first visit to the country, said the experience revealed unexpected cultural connections.
"The two cultures are oceans apart, yet they share surprising similarities," she said.
China continues to welcome international visitors. The country recorded more than 150 million inbound trips in 2025, up more than 17 percent year-on-year. Visa-free entries exceeded 30 million, reflecting the continued expansion of China's visa-free policies.
Content creator Andrew Cap, who plans to return to China in September, said people-to-people exchanges have had a lasting impact on his life.
"We need more people traveling from China to America, and more Americans traveling to China. I first went to China when I was 19, and it changed my life. Now, 11 years later, I'm going back again. I always tell young people who want to see the world: just go," he said.
mingmeili@chinadailyusa.com
