To celebrate 60 years of establishment of diplomatic relations between India and China, a Festival of India along with business events are being organised in more than 35 cities in China.  The first such business event in Eastern China was held in Nanjing on July 20.  “Ticket to Bollywood”, a spectacular Bollywood dance performance by a Mumbai based dance group, was organised in the three cities of  Nanjing, Quzhou and Wuxi on July 20-21, 23 and 30 under the Festival of India. The events were organised by the Embassy of India in Beijing with the support of Indian Council for Cultural Relations & Consulate General of India in Shanghai.

    Ambassador of India in China Dr S. Jaishankar led an Indian business delegation to Nanjing on 19-20 July.  Besides meeting Mr Luo Zhijun, Governor of Jiangsu province, the delegation also had meetings with the Party Secretary of Nanjing Mr Zhu Shanlu.  The Jiangsu and Nanjing leadership welcomed the initiative taken to organize the business event in Nanjing and expressed the hope that interaction between Indian and Chinese business meet at the event would lead to further intensification of trade and commercial ties. They appreciated the presence of the Bollywood group in Nanjing after their   successful performance at the Shanghai world Expo. Ticket to Bollywood was received enthusiastically by the audience in Nanjing where they gave two stunning performances. The first performance was held at the Great Hall of the People in the presence of more than 1,500 people. On behalf of the Municipal Government, Vice Mayor Wang Yonghong warmly welcomed the group to Nanjing. The second performance by the group was held at the South East University in Xuanwu District of Nanjing which was attended by more than 1,000 people mostly students.


Following their performance in Nanjing, the group traveled to the city of Quzhou in Zhejiang province. The performance was held at the Quzhou Worker’s Cultural Palace auditorium and received an overwhelming response from a 1000 strong audience. Senior city officials including Mayor Mr. Shang Qing, Vice Mayor Ms Zhue Huiyan watched the performance with their families. In her welcome speech, Vice Mayor thanked the Consulate for the first ever Indian cultural performance in Quzhou and for choosing Quzhou in Zhejiang for the Bollywood performance. During their meeting with CG the Party Secrtary Mr Jiang Xunbo and Mayor Mr Shang Qing welcomed the initiative taken by the Consulate to bring Bollywood to Quzhou.

The performance in Wuxi was held at the prestigious Wuxi Great Hall of the People on July 30. Vice Mayor Mr Fang Wei and other senior leaders of the Municipal Government watched and appreciated the performance. More than 1,500 people attended the event including Chinese students from NIIT, which has recently opened a training centre in Wuxi. In his welcome speech, the Vice Mayor said that the local Chinese people had heard about Bollywood and listened to Bollywood songs but this was first time that they got an opportunity to watch a live Bollywood performance. He expressed hope that the performance will strengthen people to people contact between the two countries.