On the stage, a Nigerian martial arts performer in black somersaulted and jumped on the stage in the inspiring background music of Man Should Be Self-Reliant, with the nunchakus being wielded dazzlingly. Over 100 children sat below the stage with their eyes closely tracking each movement of the performer. These little audiences jumped up from their seats, cheered and applauded.

This is a scene appearing in the performance staged by Nigeria Huaxing Art Troupe in Quangao School at Lagos, an economic center of Nigeria.

As the head of the Art Troupe, Ni Mengxiao has gotten used to such a fervent scene. "The Chinese kungfu and lion dance are especially loved by children here," he said.

Today Huaxing Art Troupe has won high praises and wide reputation among the Chinese and overseas Chinese communities in Nigeria. It has sponsored and participated in over 60 activities of different sizes in 2018 alone.

In 2003, Ni Mengxiao, a Wenzhou businessman, came to Nigeria under the invitation of his friend and began to engage in footwear trading. To enrich the life of his employees after work, he downloaded dance videos from the internet and organized them to learn in leisure time. Some masterpieces of Huaxing Art Troupe, such as "Thousand-Hand Kwan-Yin", lion dance and martial arts, reflect indeed the success of "video teaching".

In the beginning, this temporarily organized dance squad performed for merry-making in activities held in the factory; later, it gradually showed up in the activities of oversea Chinese communities, and got its name Chinese-style Dance Squad. 

With more invitations coming for them, the dance squad grows more popular. In 2017, with the official licensing by the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of the State Council, Chinese-Style Dance Squad was upgraded into Huaxing Art Troupe, with Ni Mengxiao as its head.

"The construction of the Belt and Road Initiative should rely on the cooperation with local people. I think our communication and integration with the Nigerian people in culture can contribute to the smooth cooperation between us in the BRI," Ni Mengxiao said.

(Executive Editor: Yongliu He)