The opening ceremony of the Xiaogang Village Grape Culture Tourism Festival and the first "Xiaogang Cup" Dragon and Phoenix Whip Tuo Performance Competition series of activities!

The opening ceremony of the Xiaogang Village Grape Culture Tourism Festival and the first "Xiaogang Cup" Dragon and Phoenix Whip Tuo Performance Competition series of activities!

In the evening, Xiyuan floats gently and coolly, and opens its doors to pick grapes and taste them. The source of reform welcomes a grand event, with dragons flying and phoenixes dancing and whips busy. On the evening of August 9th, 2024, the Xiaogang Village Grape Culture Tourism Festival and the first "Xiaogang Cup" Dragon and Phoenix Whip Tuo Performance Competition series of activities opened in Xiaogang Village. Liu Zhiyuan, Chairman of the Life Empowerment Working Committee of the China Elderly Health Care Association, Dou Xinhui, Chairman of the Bengbu Elderly Sports Association, Zhou Lixiu, Chairman of the Mingguang Elderly Sports Association, Wang Shengqin, Chairman of the Fengyang County Elderly Sports Association, leaders of the Da Bao Gan, members of the Xiaogang Village "Two Committees" team, and representatives of whip and dragon dance participants from all over the country attended the opening ceremony.

Figure 1: Opening Ceremony Scene

At the event, Yan Yongbing, member of the Party Committee of Xiaoxihe Town and Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee of Xiaogang Village, delivered a welcome speech and announced the opening of the 2024 Xiaogang Village Grape Culture Tourism Festival; Representative of grape growers and person in charge of Xiaogang Village Craftsmanship Sunshine Grape Planting Base, Zhang Bai, spoke on behalf of the growers; Zhou Qunzhi, Secretary of the Party Committee and Director of the Village Committee of Xiaogang Village, signed the Dragon and Phoenix Whip Tuo Training Base Agreement on behalf of Xiaogang Village; Liu Zhiyuan, Chairman of the Life Empowerment Working Committee of the China Elderly Health Care Association, delivered a collaborative speech.

Figure 2: Yan Yongbing, member of the Party Committee of Xiaoxihe Town and Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee of Xiaogang Village, delivers a welcome speech

Figure 3: Zhou Qunzhi, Secretary of the Party Committee and Director of the Village Committee of Xiaogang Village, signed the Dragon and Phoenix Whip Tuo Training Base Agreement on behalf of Xiaogang Village

The opening ceremony program is rich in content, covering various art forms such as songs, opera, dragon dance, and gyro shows. The cultural performance kicked off at the Dragon Dance Team's "Dragon Soaring in the Prosperous Age", with unique local performances such as the Sizhou Opera "Picking Cotton", the bamboo hat dance "Clear and Clear Water of Wanquan River", the light and music gyro show "Gyro", and the Wuhe folk song "Western Love Song" coming in one after another. Modern song and dance "The Sun Never sets", children's Xinjiang solo dance "Wahaha", square dance "Jianghuai Love", "Mother is China" and other programs took turns to perform. Duets and solo performances, accompanied by beautiful dances, won rounds of applause from the audience. The entire performance was full of excitement and lively atmosphere. The audience expressed their love for the program with rounds of applause and laughter, and the villagers present also took out their phones and cameras to record these wonderful moments.

Figure 4: Sizhou Opera "Picking Cotton"

Figure 5: Children's Xinjiang Solo Dance "Wahaha"

In recent years, Xiaogang Village has used "festivals" as a medium to play the Xiaogang card, set up cultural platforms, sing economic plays, and make development articles. By closely focusing on cultural tourism resources and the consumption demand of the tourism market, we will deepen the integration of agriculture, culture, and tourism, effectively combine the grape planting industry with the tourism and vacation industry, transform resource advantages into product advantages, accelerate the integration and development of cultural and tourism industries, and form a comprehensive rural tourism industry characterized by cultural experience, leisure agriculture, and educational popularization, so as to revitalize rural tourism. Nowadays, the daring and pioneering people of Xiaogang are marching forward towards the grand goal of accelerating the construction of livable, business friendly, beautiful rural areas, and demonstration villages for common prosperity! (Li Wenqi)