The 2026 Duisburg China Festival opened on Friday afternoon in Duisburg, Germany, featuring cultural booths, interactive zones, and performances from Chinese and German cities. The three-day event aims to strengthen bilateral ties, with a particular highlight being the opening gala staged by nearly 40 artists from Wuhan, the capital of central China’s Hubei Province. The performance included Peking opera, Hanju opera, Chuju opera, acrobatics, and ethnic song and dance, offering German audiences a diverse glimpse into Chinese culture.
The festival serves as a vivid expression of exchange between China and Germany, according to Chang Haitao, acting consul general of the Chinese Consulate General in Dusseldorf. He noted that such events allow Germans to experience and understand China up close. The significance of the event is amplified by the long-standing relationship between Duisburg and Wuhan, which became sister cities in 1982—the first such partnership between Germany and China. Over the decades, the two cities have maintained close people-to-people and economic exchanges.
Duisburg Mayor Soeren Link expressed his admiration for the Chinese artists’ performance, calling the opening gala unforgettable for its standard, quality, richness, and the many different facets it presented. He emphasized the city’s commitment to its sister-city relationship with Wuhan and its desire to continue strengthening German-Chinese friendship and dialogue. Markus Teuber, commissioner for China affairs at the Mayor’s Office of Duisburg, echoed these sentiments, highlighting that the theatrical, song, and dance performances provided an excellent window into Chinese culture and expressing hope for deeper cultural exchange in the future.
For Yang Jing, deputy director of the Wuhan Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism, the city’s participation marks an important step in Wuhan culture’s global outreach. The festival, an annual signature cultural event for Duisburg, injects fresh grassroots momentum into the development of German-Chinese friendship. The event underscores the role of cultural diplomacy in fostering international understanding and cooperation, building on decades of partnership between the two cities.
