“Unity in diversity”: Lancang-Mekong nations celebrate cultures at Xishuangbanna festival

XISHUANGBANNA, Yunnan—The 14th Culture and Art Festival of Countries in the Lancang-Mekong River Basin opened Tuesday evening in Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan Province, with artists from the six riparian countries offering a vivid demonstration of what one envoy called "unity in diversity." 

The opening ceremony gala, structured around four chapters, "Trace the Origin · Lancang-Mekong, One Heart," "Cultural Heritage · A Bridge of Friendship," "Integration · Harmony in Diversity," and "Together We Thrive, Together We Move Forward," featured a deliberately cross-cultural program. Chinese instrumentalists performed "Colorful Clouds Chasing the Moon"; Cambodian dancers offered the Mount Kailash Dance; Myanmar artists presented a song-and-dance number titled "Mingalaba"; Lao performers staged the dance "Khap Sanou & Khap Luang Prabang; Thai dancers showcased royal Thai costumes; and Vietnamese dancers performed "Return of the River." 

The Lancang River rises in the Tanggula Mountains of Qinghai Province and becomes the Mekong after exiting China through Xishuangbanna, flowing onward through Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. For centuries, the waterway has sustained communities along its banks and served as a channel for cultural exchange. Now in its 14th year, the festival has become a standing platform for dialogue and cooperation among the basin countries.

Arts has no border

Dr. Suchada Sowat, Assistant to the President of Bunditpatanasilpa Institute of Fine Arts (BPI), said the Thai delegation had been warmly received. "Everybody loves Thai costumes. They want to take photos, they want to talk with us," she said. The piece performed, Royal Thai National Costumes Dance, was inspired by Queen Sirikit, the Queen Mother, and featured costumes made specifically for the Xishuangbanna show. The troupe has performed Thai cultural programs in the Netherlands, Germany, France, Japan, South Korea and China this year.

Suchada said meeting artists from neighboring countries was as valuable as the performance itself. "Some Lao participants came to talk with us and take photos, and we became friends," she said.

Shahanaj Akhter Ranu, Bangladesh's consul general in Kunming, said it was her first time attending the event and praised its symbolism. "These performances are so colorful and so beautiful, and they carry a meaning—unity in diversity," she said. "Once you witness the beauty of a culture, you witness the essence of a nation," Ranu said, adding that Bangladesh hopes to participate in future editions and inviting Yunnan cultural groups to stage similar programs in Bangladesh. 

Mayfong MAYXAY, president of the Lao University of Health Sciences under the Ministry of Health, framed the festival in broader terms. "Arts has no border, and arts can bring people to become one heart," he said. "Today you see many people smiling and cheerful. This is what art and culture can do—bring people together and make peace together." Speaking on youth exchanges between Laos and China, he pointed to joint conferences, collaborative medical research and regular people-to-people meetings as pathways to what he called "a power for peace and for scientific cooperation in medicine." 

The festival runs through Nov. 1 and will also include the "Lancang-Mekong Good Products Carnival" and the "One Great River" Xishuangbanna International Photo Exhibition, aimed at deepening cultural, tourism and economic ties across the basin.