【Bangkok News】On February 17th, at the advent of the 2025 Chinese New Year, a 32-member Yingge dance troupe from Puning City, Guangdong Province, bearing the mission of bringing traditional Chinese culture to the world, visited the Thai-Chinese Cultural Association (TCCA). They performed a colorful and powerful Yingge dance in front of King Taksin's statue at King Taksin Shrine on Sampeng Market Street. More than 20 people from TCCA, including Chairman Fu Wentong, Executive Vice Chairman Wu Xiaohan, and Chairman Zhuang Jia of the Thai-Chinese Chamber of Commerce, warmly 
welcomed them. 
On the morning of the 17th, the 32-member Cultural Exchange Group of the Shangliao Yingge Dance Troupe from Puning City, Guangdong Province, led by team leader Zhang Xiqing, visited the Thai-Chinese Cultural Association and received a grand reception. Earlier, the Foreign Affairs Office of Puning Municipal Government sent a letter to TCCA, informing them that in order to further strengthen Puning's new era of opening up, they would send a 32-member Puning Shangliao Yingge Dance Troupe Cultural Exchange Group to Thailand to perform and showcase the cultural charm of Yingge dance. The troupe was scheduled to visit TCCA on the morning of February 17th. As it happened, Chairman Fu Wentong of TCCA is from Puning, which further enhanced the sense of intimacy and friendship between fellow villagers. Using culture as a bridge and Yingge as a medium, they visited relatives and friends to jointly celebrate the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and Thailand. This Puning Shangliao Yingge Dance Troupe is composed of young people aged 16 to 20. On the afternoon of the 17th, they dressed up in elaborate costumes and appeared on stage, performing wonderfully in front of King Taksin Shrine in Sampeng Market Street in the suburbs of Bangkok, attracting many brothers and sisters from TCCA and local Thai people. To the rhythm of "dong dong qiang, dong dong qiang" of the drums, the dancers, with their heroic facial makeup, twirled their batons up and down, and the drumming and shouting intertwined, creating a powerful and magnificent atmosphere, highlighting the heroic spirit of the dancers. It is said that this is a reenactment of the scene of the 108 heroes of Liangshan. The audience applauded continuously, warmly encouraging the Yingge dance troupe. That evening, TCCA hosted a banquet with 8 tables on the 8th floor of Chenghai Restaurant on Sampeng Market Street in Bangkok
to welcome and thank the Shangliao Yingge Dance Troupe of Puning City for their cultural exchange group, showcasing the heroic spirit and fighting spirit of the Chaoshan people. Yingge dance originated in the Chaoshan area during the Ming Dynasty, when bandits often appeared, and farmers, in order to protect their homes and resist oppression, practiced martial arts, set up martial arts schools, and practiced martial arts. Due to the official prohibition of folk martial arts, martial arts schools were forced to change to dance practice, integrating martial arts movements to form a unique folk art form, which is also known as an epic carrying the wisdom and emotions of the people. To this day, Yingge dance has become a lively program for local people during festivals and holidays. Yingge dancers paint their faces, put on costumes, and wave "Yingge batons" in temples, ancestral halls, and village alleys to ward off evil and pray for blessings for everyone. Yingge dance praises the heroic spirit of upholding justice, fighting against evil, unity, and brave struggle. In 2006, it was listed as a national intangible cultural heritage. Team leader Zhang Xiqing, a 30-year-old entrepreneur from the Shangliao Yingge Dance Troupe, expressed his deep gratitude in his speech: This is my first time in Thailand, and most of our team members are also visiting Thailand for the first time. We have received a warm reception from the Thai-Chinese Cultural Association and a warm welcome from our fellow villagers in Thailand. We feel very warm and touched, and we are very excited. We hope that overseas Chinese in Thailand will often visit their hometowns to experience the new changes in their hometowns, and at the same time, we look forward to making more contributions to the inheritance of Yingge dance culture in the future. Yingge dance is popular in the Chaoshan area of Guangdong Province, including Shantou, Jieyang, and Chaozhou. It is a unique folk martial arts dance that combines martial arts, opera, and dance/Wut.
TCCA welcoming personnel also included: Hou Shaoyan, Huang Yiquan, Fu Chaosheng, Zheng Jun, Ma Chenlin, Du Ming, Huang Cheng, Chen Jian, Meng Ling, Chen Chunsheng, Lian Huaming, Fang Zhibin, Fu Weifeng, Chen Na, Yang Yurong, Wu Aichan, Zhuang Guolin, Shen Zuqiang, Liu Xiaojun, etc. (Text/Meng Ling, Xiao Han Photography)
