Jianwai DRC Hosts Women’s Day Party
2018-05-22

This year being the 108 anniversary of the establishment of the International Working Women’s Day, the Jianwai DRC, together with the Xiushui Community of the Jianwai Neighborhood, held a customer-connection gala at the advent of the holiday at the Jianwai Media Center on 5 March, that saw the presence of leading officials from the Chaoyang District and Jianwai Neighborhood, ambassador of Gabon with wife, diplomats from the embassies of Micronesia, Tonga, Maldives, Costa Rica and Cuba with families, among others. Ms. Jiang Qi, DSB deputy director general, and Miss. Lin Li, HSC deputy general manager also took part in the event. 

The celebrations were opened with speeches delivered by Tian Hua and Liu Qing, senior officials from the Jianwai Neighborhood and DRC Property Management, who greeted the ladies taking part in the event. Composed of 9 parts, the party presented traditional Chinese ceremonial rituals, dances, music and costumes. The classic and national garment shows performed by children of expatriates and embassy ladies as well as Salsa from Cuba pushed the event to repeated highs, thanks tremendously to the cultural diversity. 

To ensure success of the event, preparations went underway from the beginning of the year to communicate with the local community and embassies, install the equipment, set up the stage and invite the embassy ladies for rehearsals and performance. All efforts were made to make sure every detail would proceed in an orderly manner. 

As highlights of the party, the fashion shows performed by the expatriate children and embassy ladies required a lot of prior communications and coordination. Kids from the Pakistani embassy were invited to act. However, as the event would fall on a weekday, parental consent had to be acquired, as leave of absence for the youngsters was requested for the kids to skip school as well as taking after-school hours for the rehearsals. The Pakistani parents’ agreeing to the arrangement is deemed ultimate example of love and respect for the Chinese culture to allow the performance to shine at the gala, eventually.

The embassy ladies staging the fashion show came from the Commonwealth Society of Beijing (CSB). Founded in 1993 by the then Commonwealth ambassadresses, the organization is comprised of ladies from the missions of some 50 countries. As the members all held jobs in the office or at home, 12 women diplomats from 11 countries, including Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, the United Kingdom, Fiji, Zambia, Nigeria, India and Sri Lanka, were elected to make up the performing team. The measurement taking and costume making as well as the rehearsals were only made possible with extraordinary efforts in the preliminary communication and coordination. Thanks to the joint strives of the coach and ladies, the beauty of the Qi Pao, a traditional Chinese dress, and the national costumes of other countries, was successfully presented at the gala to unanimous and recurring acclaims and applauses.

In addition to the performances, the classical Chinese tea ritual, calligraphy and music instrument were also exhibited for the audience to experience the enduring and unique appeal of the traditional Chinese culture.

Offering a platform of cultural exchange between China and the rest of the world, the event further enhanced the DRC-diplomatic mission ties and gave a chance for the DRC’s brand name to rock. Our heartfelt thanks also go to the PR & Sales Department for its all-out support. 

The event was covered live by the invited Beijing TV and Chaoyang Cable TV.