An actor performs during the Afro-Chinese Arts and Folklore Festival in Cairo, Egypt, October 27, 2018. [Photo/Xinhua]

At the unique historical Manasterly Palace overlooking the Nile River in the Egyptian capital Cairo on Saturday, the entrances, gateways and gardens were being decorated with Chinese red lanterns surrounded by colorful lights, where the third edition of the Afro-Chinese Arts and Folklore Festival kicked off with crowds of visitors, including Egyptian celebrities.

The week-long event, which features folklore performances from 25 countries including China, Egypt, Algeria, Morocco, Iraq, South Africa, Nigeria and Botswana, holds two stages, one for Arab and African performances and the other for Chinese ones.

In his address at the opening ceremony, Egyptian Minister of Culture Inas Abdel-Dayem said the uniqueness of the annual festival lies in its ability to gather nations from the two big continents of Asia and Africa.

"Such cultural activities are very important for interactions between different cultures, and China is very active in this area, and it has a strong presence in all cultural events in Egypt," the Egyptian minister told Xinhua.

The Chinese Zhejiang Wu Opera troupe, assigned by the Chinese Ministry of Culture to the festival, bedazzled the audience with the traditional "Monkey King" performance, which is well-known in China, in which the Monkey King, assisted by the six fellow "monkeys," dances with a sword and other objects showing special skillfulness and balance.

Wang Weixuan, a 38-year-old actor who performed as the Monkey King, said it is his first time to visit Egypt, describing the Egyptian people as "very friendly".

"I think they like the show that we performed today even though it's very local and traditional," Wang told Xinhua at the backstage after the performance.

"I believe that our traditional performance here contributes to more communication and interaction between Africa and China and I hope that one day I will come back to Egypt with further amazing performances," he said.

Asmaa Ibrahim, an Egyptian housewife in her late 30s, said she came with her husband and two children to enjoy the folklore shows performed by Chinese, Arab and African troupes.

"I really enjoy such folklore performances and I like the idea of bringing different nations together through art. The kids also loved the Chinese monkey dance so much," she told Xinhua near the stage for Chinese arts.