During the opening ceremony, a number of founders of Egyptian folklore bands were honored by the annual festival, which is held under the auspices of the Egyptian ministries of tourism, culture and sports, with China as the main sponsor.

"Artists are ambassadors of their nations and art is the best means to bring people together," said Egyptian veteran singer and actress Maha Abu-Auf, hailing the steadily growing Egyptian-Sino relations.

"The Chinese people are so impressive, cultured, patriotic and productive and I always encourage cooperation with China. It's a beautiful event, and I am really happy to be here today," Abu-Auf told Xinhua.

The third Afro-Chinese Arts and Folklore Festival is held under the theme of "100 Centenary 2018" to pay tribute to late South African Leader Nelson Mandela and his values of equality, justice and freedom.

Biko'smanna and Family Band from South Africa, which consists of two parents and their two little children, 11 and 9, who are both guitarists and singers, has received an award during the festival on behalf of South Africa and its late leader.

"It's an honor to have had such a great leader who has become a huge inspiration to the world through his work and vision," Ayanda Nhlangothi, a member of Biko'smanna and Family Band and mother of the two little artists, told Xinhua.

Among the participant groups are also Soleil d'Or (the Golden Sun) troupe from Algeria, Nassim Issawa group from Morocco and El-Falouja troupe of Palestine.

"This is the second time we join the Afro-Chinese Arts and Folklore Festival. It's an important event through which we learn about other cultures," said Marawan Rami, leader of Morocco's Nassim Issawa group.

"I believe such festivals should be organized in China, so we know more about the Chinese culture and folklore and remove barriers between Arabs and China through art," the Moroccan folklore artist told Xinhua.

Shi Yuewen, China's Cultural Counselor to Egypt, described the festival as "a cultural extension of Sino-African cooperation and people-to-people exchanges," shortly after the China-Africa Cooperation Forum concluded in Beijing.

The performances of the Afro-Chinese festival will tour other venues in Cairo including historical streets and sites, as well as the Opera House and the Cairo Tower, until the event closes on November 3.

Egypt and China enjoy growing ties in various fields, and the two countries marked 2016, the year the first Afro-Chinese Arts and Folklore Festival were held, as the Chinese-Egyptian Cultural Year.