A vibrant acoustic rhythm echoed throughout Ukrop Auditorium as senior Zaowen (Steven) Chen strung the guitar on his lap. “Ancient Dragon,” a traditional Chinese folk song, was the closing act to the twentieth-anniversary opening celebration of ChinaFest on Thursday evening.
This year’s opening celebration explored the Hometowns Project, a student-led media project, featured UR Chinese student performances and reflected on 20 years of ChinaFest.
The Hometowns Project features guided tours of UR students’ hometowns in China, capturing music performances and culinary taste tests. Senior Ziran (Ted) Zhou shared what “hometown” meant to him.
“Until recently, I often felt as though I was homeless,” Zhou said. “Not in a literal sense, but in the sense of not having a single place I could truly call home. Or a culture I feel I fully belong to.”
Zhou shared his experience growing up as a Chinese international student, moving cities for education and struggling with what place to call “home.” In a difficult time, Zhou longed for the place he once grew up, musing on the smells and laughter that surrounded his dinner table.
“Maybe we don’t have to choose a specific location to call home,” Zhou said. “Maybe home is something we take with us, something that evolves. Maybe home exists in the places between cultures.”
Sharing stories like Zhou’s was made possible because of the efforts of Rose Nan-Ping Chen, the founder of the Rose Group. Rose Chen and the Rose Group started ChinaFest, formerly the China-America Festival of Film and Culture, in 2005 to bridge connections between Chinese and American cultures. Rose Chen collaborated with Irby B. Brown, ‘54, to develop the framework for the festival, including film screenings at Richmond’s Byrd Theatre, cooking demonstrations and dance performances.
In past years, the celebration has featured lectures from national leaders. In memory of Rose Chen, who passed on Jan. 9, and her commitment to student spotlights, the celebration shifted this year to include performances by UR Chinese students.
“On this occasion, celebrating 20 years of China Fest, and in memory of our dear friend Rose Chen, whose sudden passing last month has yielded so many heartfelt tributes,” said Martha Merritt, Dean of International Education, in her opening remarks. “We give thanks for Rose's vision, tenacity, innovation and the desire to see person-to-person dialogue change lives through cross-cultural experience.”
Rose Chen cultivated partnerships with the Chinese Students and Scholars Association to develop student offerings, such as Lunar New Year celebrations, lion dance performances and panel discussions with students, alumni and faculty.
Rose Chen, an international student in college, also started a scholarship alongside Brown for students with financial need who attended high school in China.
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“Receiving the Irby Brown scholarship lent more than financial support to me,” Zhao Yixuan ‘23, the first recipient of the scholarship said in the video. “It gave me the freedom to pursue academic passions without compromise.”
ChinaFest is a multi-day event with a Ping Pong Night and Tournament on Feb. 7, Family Day: Year of the Wood Snake at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts on Feb. 8 and film screenings on Feb. 9.
“You don’t start building relationships when suddenly there’s political opportunity. You hope to spread understanding and personal connections for however many years it takes because when political change comes, people need to be ready to make the most of it,” Merritt said, reflecting on a conversation with a former colleague and the importance of ChinaFest to the Richmond community.
Contact news editor Ava Jenks at ava.humphries@richmond.edu
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